BUSINESS | 04BUSINESS | 03

HDC in deal with

Shirvan Metisse to

open restaurant at

The Pearl-Qatar

Proactive measures

helped stabilise

economy

post-blockade

MONDAY 2 MARCH 2020

BUSINESS

UDC and CHL sign deal to operate Corinthia Doha in Gewan IslandTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

United Development Company (UDC) has signed an agreement with Corinthia Hotels Limited (CHL) to manage and operate Corinthia Doha, which will be located in Gewan Island, UDC’s newest flagship real estate development.

UDC is a leading Qatari public shareholding company and master developer of The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Island.

The agreement was signed in Corinthia London on Feb-ruary 27, in the presence of UDC senior officials, including Turki bin Mohammed Al Khater, Chairman; Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, President, CEO and board member of UDC. Repre-senting Corinthia Hotels at the signing ceremony were Simon Naudi, CEO, and Paul Pisani, Senior Vice-President for Development.

Under the agreement, Cor-inthia Hotels, a limited company incorporated under the laws of Malta, will manage and operate the first Corinthia Hotel in Doha which will be constructed by UDC.

Corinthia Hotels currently operates a group of luxury hotels in major cities including London, Lisbon, Prague, Budapest, Malta, Tripoli, Al-Khartoum, St Petersburg, Rome,

Brussels, Moscow, Dubai and Bucharest among several others in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Corinthia Doha is therefore poised to be a prominent structure in Gewan Island, overlooking the Island’s planned golf course and beach club.

Corinthia Doha will be

established on an area of 13,000 sqm and will comprise 110 guestrooms, a banquet hall and outdoor patio with a 1,000 people capacity, an all-day dining and specialty restau-rants in addition to a luxurious spa facility.

Commenting on the agreement, UDC Chairman Al Khater said: “This project is

part of Gewan Island’s devel-opment plans and will ensure the Company’s sustainable growth and the creation of new opportunities and revenue sources over the long term.”

He also highlighted that partnership with Corinthia Hotels which boasts an extensive experience in man-aging and operating hotels

worldwide, falls in line with UDC’s development strategy to support Qatar’s real estate sector and underscores the importance of constructive partnerships that support the national economy and facilitate foreign investment.

For his part, UDC President and CEO (Al Othman) said that the leading reputation of Cor-inthia Hotels in the hospitality sector and its success in pro-viding luxury hospitality services and facilities, and spreading its Mediterranean heritage culture interna-tionally, are the main motives for choosing it to manage the new landmark hotel in Gewan Island.

Al Othman added: “Driven by UDC’s mission and vision, the agreement with Corinthia Hotels lays solid foundations for UDC’s expansion plans through investments in vital sectors such as real estate and hospitality that aim to optimize and sustain good shareholder value.

This is further evidenced by the growth witnessed in the tourism movement in Qatar as a result of recent various government incen-tives, which in turn bodes well for UDC’s planned devel-opments in its flagship projects; The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Island.” �P02

UDC Chairman Turki bin Mohammed Al Khater (second left), shaking hands with Simon Naudi, CEO of Corinthia Hotels Limited (CHL), after signing the agreement at Corinthia London, in the UK, on February 27. Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman (left), President, CEO and Board member of UDC; Paul Pisani, Senior Vice-President for Development (CHL), and other senior officials were also present.

IQ improves overall supply chain, marketing activities: Al KaabiLANI ROSE R DIZON THE PENINSULA

Industries Qatar (IQ), one of the largest and most profitable listed companies in the Middle East with interests in the production of a wide range of petrochemical, fertiliser, and steel products, has improved its overall supply chain and marketing activities in the past year, H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director at IQ said at the group’s annual general assembly yesterday.

Speaking during the event, the Minister noted that IQ con-tinued to focus on ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable operations with consistent production levels, supported by significant efforts on output and cost optimisation. Partnering with the Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat) enabled the group to access global markets, while reducing costs, he added.

The group has also been investing heavily in its health, safety, and environmental (HSE) programmes as it aspires to be an HSE role model in the region.

“We have a lot of investments in making sure that we have safe operations for our people and the environment. So that’s a con-tinuous process. And Muntajat is an integral part of our organi-sation,” Minister Al Kaabi said while talking to The Peninsula on

the sidelines of the event. In its 2019 annual report

which was presented during the event, the Board of Directors, citing IQ’s latest approved business plan through 2024, stated that the group’s total planned capital expenditure (CAPEX) stands at QR4.6bn.

IQ is evaluating a wide spectrum of potential CAPEX opportunities associated with capacity expansions and relia-bility, efficiency, and HSE improvements. The group believes such investments are essential to maintaining its com-petitive position and adding shareholder value.

IQ’s strategy is also focused on enhancing the level of existing HSE standards, while working as an organisation to become an HSE role model for the region that adheres to global standards in the pursuit of operational excellence.

During the meeting, the Board of Directors approved a total annual dividend distribution for the year ended December 31, 2019 amounting to QR2.4bn, which was equivalent to a payout of QR0.40 per share, repre-senting a payout ratio of 94 percent.

IQ also reported a net profit of QR2.6bn in 2019, with a 49

percent decline compared to the previous year. The group’s business performance was largely impacted by external macroeconomic factors which translated into increased pressure on commodity prices for petrochemicals, fertilisers, and steel products, impacting the overall profitability of the group.

The group’s annual report also highlighted that IQ has made solid progress in 2019 in seeking to reduce controllable unit cost across the group by 10 percent over five years’ time, which was one of the group’s core strategic objectives.

H E Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi (right), Minister of State for Energy Affairs and Chairman and Managing Director of Industries Qatar, with Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Mannai, Vice-Chairman, during the Annual General Assembly of Industries Qatar, in Doha yesterday. PIC: ABDUL BASIT/THE PENINSULA

This project is part of Gewan Island’s development plans and will ensure the Company’s sustainable growth and the creation of new opportunities and revenue sources over the long term.”

Moderate GCC debt issuance in 4Q19 wraps up a strong yearSATISH KANADY THE PENINSULA

GCC debt issuance was moderate in 4Q19 relative to previous quarters, standing at around $11bn, including $3.9bn in sukuk, compared to circa $30bn in 3Q19. Issuances have moderated possibly due to refinancing needs being already completed during the year. Issuances in 4Q19 were dominated by sovereigns and quasi-sovereigns.

NBK in its ‘economic update’ noted that though 4Q19 posted a modest issuance, in com-parison to prior quarters, the gross issuance throughout 2019 was solid reaching $102bn, and total outstanding debt (domestic and international) rose to $517bn at the end of 2019 from close to $457bn.

Issuance may have eased in 4Q on the back of a lower need to refinance after the excep-tionally strong run earlier in the year, driven in part by a large volume of maturities: around $43bn in GCC bonds and Sukuk matured in 2019. With generally expansionary budgets and low borrowing costs, issuance has regained traction so far this year. More than $11bn had been issued as of mid February, one of the most notable of which was a $3bn issuance by QNB in Qatar, NBK analysts noted.

GCC medium-term sov-ereign yields diverged from global trends in 4Q19, with yields in four out of six GCC countries

broadly steady in 4Q19. Con-tinued international interest in GCC debt likely dampened a potential increase in yields, driven by attractive risk-adjusted returns and inclusion of most GCC sovereigns in the global benchmark JP Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI).

Oman and Bahrain wit-nessed a second consecutive quarter of sharp declines in sov-ereign bond yields, which decreased by 79 and 82 bps, respectively. The two countries continued to benefit from improved outlooks.

The two bonds are typically more volatile than their peers and yield/price movements are usually more pronounced.

Given that GCC yields declined considerably in 2019 and that alternative global yields increased in 4Q19 resulting in narrower spreads with GCC ones, NBK analysts believe that the scope for further consid-erable declines in GCC yields may be limited going forward. Furthermore, following the mul-tiple GCC interest rate cuts seen in 2019 and the current neutral stance of the Fed, the likelihood of additional GCC rate cuts in 2020 is relatively low.

The fact that the outlook for oil prices remain soft may increase the implied risk of GCC fixed income instruments and push yields higher. Any major adverse developments in terms of geopolitical risks will most likely drive up yields.

Turki bin Mohammed Al Khater,

UDC Chairman

02 MONDAY 2 MARCH 2020BUSINESS

UDC-CHL signing ceremony

QIIB and MasterCard deliver customer value with new QIIB Points PortalTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

QIIB has announced the launch of its new ‘QIIB Points Portal’. The QIIB Points Portal was developed as part of QIIB’s stra-tegic partnership with Mastercard and delivers an extensive range of benefits to its customers through the renowned Mastercard Rewards System.

The move enables QIIB to pursue stronger and more seamless engagement with its customers through the platform and offer more value through the QIIB Points Portal. The Mas-tercard Rewards System is a pro-prietary platform that delivers holistic loyalty programs across the globe.

Commenting on the new portal, Jamal Abdullah Al Jamal, Deputy CEO, QIIB stated, “We have recently taken several

integral steps to further enhance our products and services port-folio. Customer experience is at the center of our ethos, and we are keen to surpass global standards by optimizing devel-opments in the banking sector to deliver real value. The launch of the new QIIB Points Portal also represents our commitment to providing our customers with service excellence”.

“Mastercard is proud to work with QIIB to offer its customers Priceless benefits through the end-to-end loyalty solution,” said Somu Roy, General Manager, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq, Mastercard. “Through our integrated loyalty assets, financial services industry expe-rience, and third-party partner-ships, Mastercard is working with its partners like QIIB to deliver program enhancements that drive deeper customer engagement and a frictionless customer experience. Fur-thermore, we will deliver actionable insights through our advanced rewards analytics to support QIIB in its vision to be the banking partner of choice for people living in Qatar.” Omar Abdulaziz Al-Meer, Chief of Business Development, QIIB said, “The new QIIB Points Portal is a vital leap in the right

direction – delivering unparal-leled value to our customers, and access to actionable data. Apart from a distinguished design, access to the new QIIB Points Portal is seamless, and cus-tomers can manage their points

at any time through the QIIB Mobile Banking Application or via QIIB Internet Banking”.

The program provides access to over 250 global airlines, more than 600,000 hotels, over 60,000 car rental locations through more

than 800 rental companies across the globe. QIIB Customers also have the opportunity to exchange their QIIB Points for the pres-tigious loyalty programs provided by Qatar Airways (Qmiles) and Ooredoo (Nojoom).

FROM LEFT: Jamal Abdullah Al Jamal (left), Deputy CEO, QIIB; Somu Roy, General Manager, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq, Mastercard; and Omar Abdulaziz Al-Meer, Chief of Business Development, QIIB during the formal announcement of the launch of the QIIB Points Portal.

The move enables QIIB to pursue stronger and more seamless engagement with its customers through the platform and offer more value through the QIIB Points Portal.

Vodafone connects Barwa Labour City with GigaNet fibreTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Vodafone has connected the Barwa Labour City with its state of the art GigaNet fibre network that will give thousands of labour workers access to fixed services including high-speed internet, in addition to powering many of the commercial entities located there.

The development, designed and developed by Barwa Real Estate Group, comes as part of the efforts to improve the housing standards of workers in Qatar and meet the needs of the local market in line with the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030 and Qatar’s prep-arations for hosting the 2022 World Cup. The development is located on Salwa Road and covers an area of 773,457 square meters that comprises of residential houses, shops, mosques, health centre and a recreation zone.

Vodafone’s Business Unit Director, Mahday Saad Al Hebabi, said: “Vodafone Qatar

has long championed the importance of including all members of society in the digital world and connecting the Barwa Labour City plays a key role in this. In 2016, we equipped Al Khor Workers Sports Complex with Wi-Fi to give labour workers access to the internet for free. And since 2017, as part of the MOTC Better Connections pro-gramme, we have provided the internet connectivity services and hardware devices in 1,500 labs across Qatar, supporting the labour worker community’s digital needs and education on a daily basis.”

Residents of the Barwa Labour City will enjoy Vodafone GigaHome- the latest in home Wi-Fi technology. Businesses will also benefit from the wide range of services available with GigaNet Fibre, including access to Vodafone GigaBusiness plans, offering unlimited data with speeds up to 1Gbps, high-speed Corporate Internet, Security services and Fixed Voice solutions

UDC and CHL

sign deal to

operate

Corinthia Doha in

Gewan IslandFROM BUSINESS PAGE 1

Further echoing their excitement to be operating in the Qatari market, Simon Naudi, CEO of Corinthia Hotels, said: “We are delighted to have signed an agreement with UDC to manage a luxury hotel in Gewan Island which promises to be a magnificent location. The energy, vision and quality of resources assembled by UDC for this project will ensure that Cor-inthia Doha will be another landmark property that will enrich our portfolio and will equally add value to Doha’s hospitality offerings.”

Gewan Island, UDC’s latest real-estate project, is situated next to The Pearl-Qatar, spanning 400,000 sqm. Once completed, the Island will accommodate 3,500 residents and a similar number of daily visitors.

Gewan Island will also feature a world-class golf course with a beach club, an air conditioned ‘Crystal Walkway’ outdoor prom-enade, parks and green areas, which will play a major role in attracting various new brands to Doha.

UDC Chairman Turki bin Mohammed Al Khater (third left), Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman (second left), President, CEO and Board member of UDC; Paul Pisani, Senior Vice-President for Development (CHL), and other senior officials posing for a picture during the UDC-CHL signing ceremony.

US gas export pioneers forced to sell

shares to satisfy loan requirements

BLOOMBERG — NEW YORK

Two pioneers of the US natural gas export industry were forced to sell shares of the company they founded amid a global market rout and concern that a key supply deal won’t be finalized.

Tellurian Inc. Chairman Charif Souki and Vice Chairman Martin Houston sold 4 million and 3.4 million shares respectively, according to filings late Friday. In both cases, the transactions were forced by a lender to satisfy loan requirements, the filings show. Tellurian declined to comment.

Shares of the company, which is trying to develop a $28bn liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana, plunged by more than half on Friday to close at $1.80. The total weekly

decline was 72 percent.India’s Petronet LNG Ltd., a

potential major customer that Tellurian has courted, announced earlier this week it would seek competing offers. The move highlights the mounting pressure on sellers amid a worldwide glut, and adds to doubts that Tellurian will be able to secure a sizable anchor investment from Petronet for its Driftwood LNG project. The Pet-ronet news also dashed hopes that the two companies might finalize a supply agreement during President Donald Trump’s visit to India this week.

The coronavirus outbreak, meanwhile, sent global markets spiraling lower, adding to Tellurian’s woes. The epidemic has hit China, South Korea and Japan, the world’s biggest LNG importers, partic-ularly hard.

Biotechnology trade group taps former Biogen CEO as its coronavirus czarREUTERS — NEW YORK

The Biotechnology Innovation Organisation (BIO), the biotech-nology industry’s largest trade association, told Reuters on Friday that former Biogen Inc CEO George Scangos would coordinate its response to the global coronavirus outbreak.

Scangos, currently the chief executive of San Francisco-b a s e d s t a r t - u p V i r

Biotechnology, which is working on a coronavirus treatment, will lead BIO’s efforts to research therapeutics and diagnostics to stave off the spread of the virus.

“The role is still evolving but it is clear someone needs to pick up the reins. It is only natural for us here at Vir to take on a leadership role,” Scangos said in an interview.

A BIO spokesman said

about 40 of its members have reached out to the organisation to offer their expertise, while about 20 are researching ther-apeutics, vaccines or diag-nostics that target the virus. BIO has spent the last few weeks tracking the programs already under way and helping firms coordinate with one another and government authorities, the spokesman said.

03MONDAY 2 MARCH 2020 BUSINESS

UDC subsidiary HDC in deal with Shirvan Metisse to open restaurant at The Pearl-Qatar

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Hospitality Development Company (HDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Development Company (UDC), has signed a licence agreement with upscale Paris-based Shirvan Metisse, to open Shirvan Metisse restaurant at The Pearl-Qatar (TPQ).

The agreement was signed by Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, UDC President, CEO and board member, and Akrame Benallal, Shirvan Métisse CEO.

UDC is a leading Qatari shareholding company, real estate giant and the master developer of The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Island.

Through opening the new restaurant inspired by oriental flairs from Azerbaijan and food cultures along the old Silk Road, UDC and HDC aim to further investments in hospitality-related businesses which show prom-ising prospects for tourism in Qatar in general and The Pearl-Qatar more specifically, where HDC has pledged to introduce innovative hospitality brands and concepts.

To this end, Shirvan Metisse

aims at shaking up preconceived ideas, mixing influences and styles by presenting innovative

culinary concoctions within an entertaining ambiance, a unique and comprehensive fine dining

experience crafted by the very daring two-Michelin star Chef Akrame Benallal.

Commenting on the opening of the new restaurant at The Pearl-Qatar, Al Othman, said: “We at UDC are keen on collaborating with brilliant brands to create memorable experiences that are unique to The Pearl-Qatar, which attracts large numbers of visitors. In this spirit, we have chosen to partner with Shirvan Métisse, which introduces an entirely new fusion concept and enriches the portfolio of restaurants managed by Hospitality Development Company.”

For his part, Chef Akrame Benallal, CEO of Shirvan Métisse, said: “I am very happy to be working in collaboration with UDC and HDC to take the Shirvan Métisse brand to a whole new level as one of the world’s leading culinary experiences and specifically at The Pearl-Qatar being one of the country’s most iconic sites. I am confident Shirvan Métisse’s colorful journey of flavors inspired from the ancient Silk Road will appeal to the clientele with discerning taste.”

HDC currently operates several successful restaurants at The Pearl-Qatar including Alison Nelson’s Chocolate Bar,

MEGU, Burj Al Hamam, Ara-besque, Urban Jazz Kitchen and Isla Mexican Kitchen.

UDC’s mission is to identify and invest in long-term projects contributing to Qatar’s growth and providing good shareholder value. Its activities cover a mul-titude of vital investment sectors including real estate development, property man-agement, infrastructure and utilities, maritime & hospitality related businesses.

We at UDC are keen on collaborating with brilliant brands to create memorable experiences that are unique to The Pearl-Qatar, which attracts large numbers of visitors.''

Qatar’s trade balance shows surplus of QR12.5bn in JanuaryTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR12.5bn in January 2020, according to preliminary figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority.

The trade surplus in January wit-nessed a decline of about QR3.3bn, or 20.7 percent, compared to January 2019. When compared on yearly basis, it has decreased by nearly QR1.8bn, or 12.4 percent, compared to December

2019. The decline in trade surplus was attributed to fall in the exports of hydrocarbon-related products, including oil and gas.

In January 2020, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR22.4bn, showing a decrease of 9 percent compared to January 2019, and decrease of 5 percent compared to December 2019.

The imports of goods in January 2020 amounted to around QR9.9bn, showing an increase of 11.9 percent over January 2019. However, on a

month-on-month basis the imports increase by 6.4 percent.

The year-on-year decrease in total exports in January 2020 was mainly due to lower exports of Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons (LNG, condensates, propane, butane, etc.) reaching QR15.1bn approximately in January 2020, i.e. a decrease of 6.8 percent, Petroleum oils & oils from bituminous minerals (crude) reaching QR3.2bn nearly, decreased by 15.7 percent, and decrease in the Petroleum oils & oils from bituminous minerals (not crude) reaching QR1.2bn,

decreased by 26.1 percent.In January 2020, Japan was at the

top of the countries of destination of Qatar’s exports with close to QR4.3bn, a share of 19.1 percent of total exports, followed by China with almost QR3.6bn and a share of 16.1 percent, South Korea with about QR3.3bn, a share of 14.7 percent.

During January 2020, the group of “Motor Cars & Other Motor Vehicles for the Transport of Persons” was at the top of the imported group of com-modities, with QR0.4bn, showing an increase of 25.2 percent compared to

January 2019. In second place was “Parts of Balloons Etc.; Parts of Aircraft, Spacecraft Etc” with QR0.39bn, showing an increase of 33.2 percent and in third place was “Gold (incl. gold plated with platinum) unwrought or in Semimnfr or in powder form” with QR0.2bn, increase of 48.6 percent.

In January 2020, China was the leading country of origin of Qatar’s imports with about QR2bn, a share of 19.7 percent of the imports, followed by the US with QR1.5bn almost, a share of 15.7 percent, and Germany with QR0.7bn, a share of 7.3 percent.

Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman (left), President, CEO and Board member of UDC, and Akrame Benallal, CEO of Shirvan Metisse, at the signing ceremony, recently.

04 MONDAY 2 MARCH 2020BUSINESS

Siemens’ MindSphere to boost digital skills at two Qatar universitiesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Students at two universities in Qatar will now have access to MindSphere, the cloud-based, open Internet of Things (IoT) operating system from Siemens, as a training tool to develop pilot projects and prototype applications for industry and education. The collaboration between Siemens, Texas A&M University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University will see 100 students using MindSphere as a practical tool for learning about the IoT, through Siemens’ MindSphere Academics Program.

“Our partnership will help students to develop essential skills for successful careers in Qatar’s increasingly digital, industrialized economy,” said Adrian Wood, CEO of Siemens in Qatar. “Equipping students with digital skills is a key part of Qatar’s transition to a diver-sified knowledge economy. By collaborating directly with

Texas A&M and Hamad Bin Khalifa Universities, I am pleased that we are also taking a step forward in closing the gap between academia and the private sector.”

The MindSphere Academics Program helps institutions and educators to create learning environments that explicitly focus on the theories, concepts and practical aspects for a deeper understanding of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). It aids institutions to enrich their IoT curriculum and enables students and researchers to solve real-world challenges by developing custom IIoT applications, and test and deploy them on the platform.

As part of the collaboration, students from the two univer-sities will also take part in an annual Siemens hackathon during which they will have the opportunity to develop proto-types with MindSphere. Initial training for staff and students

will be provided by Siemens on-site in Qatar, and remote support services will be available to students during the academic year.

Dr. Cesar Octavio Malave, dean of Texas A&M at Qatar, said this collaboration will elevate the already world-class engineering education students receive at the branch campus. “At Texas A&M at Qatar, we strive to provide a wealth of opportunities for students to develop into engineering leaders who will lead the next several decades of Qatar’s growth and development. This collaboration with Siemens will provide our engineering stu-dents with skills that will enhance their value to the workforce and to the State of Qatar and make them even more highly sought after in industry.”

MindSphere is a cloud-based operating system for the Internet of Things that helps companies understand data by

quickly and securely connecting products, plants, systems and machines to the digital world. By unlocking the wealth of data from every machine and system in a business, MindSphere can transform this data into pro-ductive business results using powerful industrial applications with advanced analytics. Mind-Sphere is a secure and scalable industrial end-to-end solution from asset connectivity to

actionable business insights uti-lized to increase productivity and efficiency across the entire enterprise.

Dr. Mounir Hamdi, dean of the College of Science and Engi-neering, HBKU, said: “Rapid digital innovations have gone on to advance learning and teaching methods in academia. Partnering with a leading global technology giant such Siemens, which is at the forefront of

digital innovations, provides our College of Science and Engi-neering students with an inval-uable opportunity to gain a competitive edge in the market once they graduate. Using the MindSphere platform will undoubtedly expand their working knowledge of the IoT and other key digital innova-tions – advancements that are integral to Qatar’s growth and diversification.”

Officials posing for a photo during the announcement of collaboration between Siemens, Texas A&M University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

Italy prepares deficit hike to help economy cope with coronavirus

REUTERS — ROME

Italy will introduce this week measures worth €3.6bn ($3.5bn) to help the economy withstand the largest outbreak of corona-virus in Europe, Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said yesterday.

In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper, Gual-tieri said this amounted to 0.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and would come on top of an aid-package worth 900 million euros that was unveiled on Friday for the worst-impacted areas.

Gualtieri said the new bill would include tax credits for companies that reported a 25 percent drop in revenues, tax cuts and additional funds for the health service. “I want to reassure Italians that we are well aware of the problems and dangers,” Gualtieri said, adding that if additional help was needed it would have to come at a European level. Opposition pol-iticians said the proposals were far too limited, with the head of the far-right League, Matteo Salvini, demanding “at least €20bn” of additional spending.

Italy has registered more than 1,100 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the contagion came to light in wealthy northern regions on February 20 and at least 29 people have died.

Qatar Automobiles Company presents Mitsubishi Eclipse CrossTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Automobiles Company (QAC), the authorised distributor of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation in Qatar, unveiled Mit-subishi Eclipse Cross in its showroom on Salwa Road.

The Eclipse Cross’s beautiful, dynamic form creates the same sense of excitement and inspi-ration as the diamond ring effect during a total eclipse. The new vehicle’s high-saturation red exterior color evokes the brilliance of the sun’s halo flaring from behind the moon.

While stylish like a coupe, it’s unquestionably a Mitsubishi Motors SUV. The dynamic, sculpted form projects the explosive power of an athlete from sporty face to high-tech rear

lamps. All harmonize in a strong personality that drives you to explore.

The styling stimulates your desire to drive with a single glance and fills you with confidence. Like an athlete in motion, the sculpted wedge shape and sharp, dynamic character lines leave a strong impression wherever you go.

The fresh surprise of the body persists in the cabin where engi-neering passion culminates in sporty, dynamic refinement. From distinctive horizontal instrument panel to shining silver trim and monotone color scheme, the cockpit welcomes you to a bold new experience with Display Audio and Head Up Display keeping you stimulated and informed.

The newly developed

1.5L petrol turbo engine, it provides a pleasing response, high revolu-tions and strong acceleration.

Mitsubishi Motors also attached importance to the quality of the ride. Cars offering a great ride tend to have highly rigid bodies, but blindly adding rigidity can easily increase vehicle weight. So how does one construct a body that is both lightweight and rigid? The development team turned to adhesive technologies.

The Eclipse Cross is a crossover that only Mit-subishi Motors, with its long tradition of building SUVs, could

have made. While perfection is impossible, since people seek all sorts of different things from cars, the more you examine the details of the Eclipse Cross, touch its components and hear the stories from its makers, the more you come to appreciate both its design and the effort behind its development.

While specifically focusing on a “stylish SUV” concept, Mitsubishi Motors also aimed to satisfy as many users as possible by elimi-

nating compromise and meeting user demands.

This is what d r o v e

Mitsubishi Motors to release a new SUV.

In terms of safety, the all-new Eclipse Cross SUV Coupe received the highest 5-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). The ANCAP revealed that the Eclipse Cross achieved a 97 percent rating for Adult Occupant Protection.

The SUV Coupe’s ‘Forward Col-lision Mitigation’ system performed well, with collisions avoided or mit-igated in all test scenarios and at all test speeds.

Overall, the Eclipse Cross scored maximum points in many of the tests performed, helping the vehicle to secure the highest safety rating possible. This 5-star ANCAP safety rating will apply to all var-iants of the Eclipse Cross SUV.

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Proactive measures helped stabilise economy post-blockade: QCB GovernorMOHAMMAD SHOEB THE PENINSULA

A series of quick and proactive measures taken by the government and Qatar Central Bank (QCB) in response to the blockade helped tide over the after effects of the siege (imposed in early June 2017). It had no lasting impact on the economy, which rebalanced quickly within the second half of 2017, the Governor of QCB, H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani, told ‘The Business Year’ in an exclusive interview to its ‘Qatar 2020’ annual report.

The QCB Governor noted that the government also took various measures to improve the investment environment, encourage local manufacturing industries, initiate self-suffi-ciency in dairy and farm products, expand into new air and sea routes, offer visa-free entry, and enact fiscal reforms through expenditure rational-isation, among others. These initiatives revived the economy and ensured more private-sector participation in the overall development of the economy.

Commenting further on the policy move by the banking sector regulator that helped

restoring stability, Sheikh Abdulla said: “QCB’s active liquidity management has brought liquidity in the banking system back to complete nor-malcy, making the sector sound and profitable. Renewed inter-national investor confidence also reinforced the stability of financial markets. QCB also proactively utilised communi-cation channels to establish

stability in the price of Qatari Riyal within a short span of time. Thus, it is not one policy measure, but a combination of policies by the authorities that helped the economy prudently manage its assets.”

Speaking about the policy tools taken by the QCB to defend the Qatari riyal, which reportedly had come under pressure after the blockade, he

said that the Qatar’s banking sector, the mainstay of the financial sector, has remained sound and liquid, part of which was because of the introduction of Basel III guidelines back in 2013-14, which ensured a strong capital base for the banks.

“The pool of high-quality liquid instruments with the intro-duction of treasury bills and bonds in 2011 also enabled the banks to withstand the sudden liquidity pull back from the blocked countries. QCB has also set up an internal emergency committee to monitor the devel-opments in various segments of the financial sector. Based on its assessment by analyzing high-frequency data on select financial sector parameters, the committee provided suggestions for policy measures that could be taken by QCB. In response to a withdrawal of funds by the blockade coun-tries, liquidity management measures were taken by QCB and supported by the government and public-sector entities,” added the QCB Governor.

“A speculative attack on the currency was also warded off through the announcement of our firm commitment to the peg. Legal investigations were also initiated against banks involved in speculative attacks. With the return of confidence,

the stock market, which declined in the immediate aftermath of the blockade, has also fully recovered.”

On the opportunities and regulatory challenges with regards to fintech and its potential impact on the Qatari banking system, Sheikh Abdulla highlighted that fintech activ-ities have grown exponentially in the global financial sector arena in recent years, and QCB is actively working on devel-oping strategies to adapt to this changing horizon.

The QCB Governor also acknowledged the potential benefits of the technology adding that fintech can bring positive change to the sector, but also additional risks. It helps financial sector stakeholders streamline their processes to achieve more efficiency and faster delivery, in addition to facilitating communication with their customers to better under-stand their needs and enhance their access to financial services.

“Fintech is also known to increase the contribution of the financial sector to GDP, diversify the economy, and create new market dynamics, which is why we are formu-lating an approach to fintech that takes lessons from other major global initiatives.”

H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani , Governor of Qatar Central Bank

Grishko family business

05MONDAY 2 MARCH 2020 BUSINESS

I want to stress that for the Russian budget, for our econ-omy, the current oil prices level is acceptable. Our accumulated reserves, including the National Wealth Fund, are enough for ensuring a stable situation, the fulfilment of all budget and social liabilities, even under a possible deterioration of the global economic situation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

USTR vows to push for trade deals with Britain and EU; seeks reforms at WTOREUTERS — WASHINGTON

The Trump administration has said it would focus on concluding new trade agree-ments with Britain, the European Union and Kenya over the coming year, while strictly enforcing trade laws and pushing for reforms of the World Trade Organisation.

In its annual report to the US Congress, the US Trade Rep-resentative’s office said members of the global trade body needed to fundamentally rethink what it called “an out-dated tariff framework” that no longer reflected economic realities.

USTR delivered a scathing indictment of the WTO in the 338-page document, calling it an organisation that had “strayed far from its original mission and purpose,” while highlighting the Trump admin-istration’s push over the past year to confront what it said were China’s unfair trade pol-icies and practices.

It said 2019 was “a historic year for American trade” in which the administration reached trade agreements with China and Japan, and secured congressional approval of a new North American trade deal with Mexico and Canada.

It also hailed a WTO decision giving Washington the right to impose tariffs on $7.5bn of EU goods in a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies to Airbus.

The US government also initiated action against France over its digital services taxes that Washington says will harm US tech companies such as

Facebook, Alphabet Inc’s Google, Amazon Inc and Apple, and is monitoring develop-ments in other countries, the report said.

Washington and Paris have agreed to a truce staving off those tariffs through year-end to allow work on broader tax reforms by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“Going forward, President Trump will continue to rebalance America’s rela-tionship with its trading partners, aggressively enforce our trade laws, and take prompt action in response to unfair trade practices by other nations,” the report said.

In addition to pursuing trade agreements with Britain and the EU, USTR said it would work on trade agreements with new partners, including Kenya, which would be the first US free trade deal in sub-Saharan Africa.

USTR said it hoped a recent change in EU leadership and appointment of a new trade commissioner would lead to “more progress in the coming year” than was possible in the past.

It said it also planned to conduct further negotiations with Japan and China to reach more comprehensive trade agreements, while continuing to push for reforms at the WTO.

“The WTO’s failure to keep pace with new developments in the global economy has resulted in significant advan-tages for non-market econ-omies,” USTR wrote in the report, saying China in par-ticular benefited from the WTO’s deficiencies.

Investors cast wary eye on market open with bad news piling upBLOOMBERG — NEW YORK

The first confirmed US coro-navirus death and signs the outbreak is taking a stiff toll on China’s economy left shell-shocked investors wondering if markets could buckle again when they reopen.

While considerable bad news has been priced in to stocks, with the S&P 500 down 13 percent in seven sessions, markets have to date been helpless to right themselves amid a torrent of virus-related headlines that continued into Saturday.

“The news flow today is quite negative and it will make the narrative between now and Monday morning even more important than it was on Friday,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co., warning that it’s still too early for worst-case scenarios. “That said, today’s markets are highly impacted by momentum-based mech-anized trading. If things get going in one direction, it’s very hard to turn around.” Most investors reached on Saturday counseled perspective, saying that after the worst plunge since 2008, the market is making progress adjusting to slower economic growth and the disease’s human toll. Versus expected earnings, US stocks trade at roughly the five-year average relative to expected earnings.

“What is critical from an

investor perspective is the market has significantly marked down on those fears,” said David Katz (pictured), chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors in Westchester, New York. “As the news comes out over the next few weeks, a lot has been discounted already. Generally the market will, once there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, the market will look beyond all the negatives and start to reevaluate.” At an afternoon press conference to announce new steps to halt the disease’s spread, President Donald Trump said “markets will all come back” from the sell-off that has erased $6 trillion from global equities.

He urged the Federal Reserve to “do its job” and cut interest rates while his admin-istration focuses on public safety. On Friday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the virus poses evolving risks to the economy and signaled the central bank is prepared to cut interest rates if necessary.

“It’s certainly not a good situation, when you lose travel that’s a big part of the market, but for a period of time we’re going to have to do whatever is necessary,” Trump said. “Safety, health, number one – the markets will take care of themselves. The companies are very powerful, our con-sumer has never been in a better position than they are

right now.” A patient Trump described as “medically high risk” from Washington state became the first confirmed US fatality linked to the corona-virus. Washington state health officials had earlier identified two new cases, including a person who had no known travel history or encountered anyone who had visited affected areas.

Highlighting the virus’s economic toll, data Saturday from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed activity in the country’s manufacturing

sector contracted sharply in February, with the official gauge hitting the lowest level on record. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index plunged to 35.7 in February from 50 the previous month, much lower than economists predicted.

“It’s absolutely worse as a drip of news,” said Nathan Thooft, Manulife Asset Man-agement’s head of global asset allocation. “Investors want certainty whether good or bad. A drip, drip of news leaves the uncertainty door wide open.” From its closing level of 2,954.22 Friday, the S&P 500 would need to fall another 8.3 percent to complete the 20 percent tumble that tradi-tionally signifies a bear market. No such decline has occurred in US indexes since March 2009, making the rally that began in that month by some measures the longest ever.

“My belief is that this is a correction and not the end of the bull market,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of Davidson Advisory Group. “We are likely to have an economic shock here in the US, but I don’t believe we will get two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Because we won’t get a recession due to the corona-virus, the bull market will con-tinue.” Futures trading in US equity indexes resume at 6 pm New York time yesterday.

As the news comes out over the next few weeks, a lot has been discounted already. Generally the market will, once there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, the market will look beyond all the negatives and start to reevaluate.”

Employees of Grishko company produce pointe shoes in the company’s Moscow workshop. Born in the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Grishko family business has emerged among the top makers in the world of dance shoes, notably classic ballet pointe shoes, worn on the world’s great stages.

UBS urges Swiss

fiscal policy

rethink due to

negative rates

BLOOMBERG — ZURICH

Switzerland’s negative central bank policy rate that allows the government to get paid to borrow money “inevitably raises the question” whether fiscal policy isn’t too restrictive, according to UBS Group AG.

Switzerland has a low debt-to-output ratio, with a consti-tutionally guaranteed debt break meant to prevent out-of-control spending. The burden of keeping the economy on track falls on the Swiss National Bank, which aims prevent an undue appreciation of the franc.

“Monetary policy is slowly but surely reaching its limits, so it’s increasingly uncertain whether an even lower policy rate or even more interventions actually move the external value of the franc in the right direction,” UBS economist Alessandro Bee said in a note.

“For infrastructure projects or tax cuts, there is significantly more certainty that this will also have an effect.” The Inter-national Monetary Fund has chided the country for unnec-essary frugality, warning that a failure to spend could crimp potential growth down the road.

Yet Swiss officials say infra-structure is already in good shape, and more domestic spending won’t weaken the exchange rate, which is the reason the inflation rate is so weak.

According to Bee at UBS, while monetary policy is likely to remain the dominant player for now, in the longer term the Swiss will need to rethink the policy mix.

“The most justifiable is taking on more debt for infra-structure projects, which wouldn’t endanger the public sector’s AAA rating,” he said.

A $30 oil price is the real virus threat to OpecIt’s finally upon us. The week when ministers from the oil producing countries of Opec and their allies meet to decide on the future of their latest round of output cuts. Having failed to persuade Russia to bring the meeting forward, Saudi Arabia will now hope to convince its biggest non-Opec ally of the need to make deeper cuts in the face of a demand slump triggered by the Covid-19 virus. Success is not a foregone conclusion and failure will be costly.

The looming pandemic has already made its mark on oil markets. US West Texas Inter-mediate crude is now firmly below $50 a barrel and global benchmark Brent briefly fol-lowed it on Friday. That is uncomfortable territory for pro-ducers everywhere and, without a clear indication of deeper output cuts from this week’s meetings, prices will fall further.

As the virus spreads, locking down Italy’s industrial

heartland and prompting Swit-zerland to ban large gatherings, producers appear to be clinging to overly optimistic demand assessments. Opec Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, speaking at a conference, said that in spite of the new corona-virus, the world’s “thirst for energy will continue to grow.” While that may be true for energy as a whole, it may not be for oil demand this year if there isn’t a quick rebound.

Assessments from the three main forecasting agencies still show 2020 oil demand growth running close to a million barrels a day, but that now looks very optimistic. By con-trast, veteran energy con-sultants FGE cut their forecast for growth this year to “almost zero.” They base their pes-simism on the ripple effects of the virus beyond China, where traffic volumes in affected cities have already slumped, according to data from the

TomTom Traffic Index. Measured in terms of how much longer journeys take than they would on empty roads, live data show that traffic volumes in Beijing are still well below normal levels, even as the city is reportedly returning to work.

In Wuhan, center of the epi-demic in China, there is no such uptick; economic activity remains severely curtailed.

But this is no longer just a Chinese problem. The eco-nomic impact of the spread of the virus to other parts of the world is clear. Four-week average jet fuel demand in the US has dropped by 18 percent in the past 10 weeks. Airlines are cutting flight schedules and passenger numbers have col-lapsed. An acquaintance of mine flew back from Australia last weekend on a plane he reckons was only about one-third full. As people have second thoughts about getting on flights if there’s no guarantee

those around them aren’t infected, flight schedules will almost certainly be cut further, with obvious implications for fuel demand. Consultants JBC Energy have cut global demand growth for the fuel to just 50,000 barrels a day this year, little more than a third of what they saw a month ago.

And those TomTom figures show the impact of the virus on traffic in Milan after its dis-covery in northern Italy. Morning rush-hour journey times have been cut by a quarter, as fewer cars clog the roads. A similar pattern is emerging in Opec nation Kuwait, where the virus has spread from neighboring Iran.

Any hopes that demand will rebound last this year in a robust enough way to offset the first-half slump are built on shaky foundations. The flights that have been cancelled are gone, not postponed. The road trips not made this week won’t be

made up in future weeks. Traffic may return to normal levels once the virus is brought under control, but there won’t be a surge beyond that from pent-up demand. This is the situation that will face the oil ministers of the 23 nations in OPEC+ later this week. They need a credible plan that will take actual barrels off the market, even if Russia balks at making further cuts. Its compliance has been poor, but Saudi Arabia seems willing to accept that in return for the per-ception of added clout that it thinks Russia’s presence at the table brings.

Julian LeeBLOOMBERG OPINION

UK retailer John Lewis to announce strategic revampBLOOMBERG — LONDON

John Lewis Partnership Plc’s chairwoman is set to announce a strategic review to save the company on Thursday, just a month after taking charge of the ailing British retailer.

Sharon White, former chief executive officer of Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, joined Britain’s largest employee-owned business with the mission to complete the revamp of the company’s structure and reverse declining sales at a time when consumers are deserting the high street.

On Thursday, the 91-year-old company is to report full-year earnings and employees could be denied their annual bonuses for the first time since World War II as part of the cost-cutting strategy.

Another option on the table is scrapping the “Never Know-ingly Undersold” price-matching policy, which binds the company to discounts to compete with other struggling rivals.

The revamp is expected to include writedowns related to John Lewis’s 50 department stores of hundreds of millions of pounds, The Sunday Times reported without saying how it got the information.

A spokesperson for the retailer declined to comment.

06 MONDAY 2 MARCH 2020BUSINESS

BLOOMBERG — HONG KONG

China’s economy could be heading for a worse-than-expected f irst-quarter contraction after the country’s manufacturing sector reported activity was at a record low in February due to the corona-virus outbreak.

The manufacturing pur-chasing managers’ index plunged to 35.7 in February from 50 the previous month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. Even before that data, the median forecast was that the economy would shrink in the three months through March from the last quarter of 2019, and the surprisingly weak data prompted further cuts to that view.

Gross domestic product may now shrink by 2.5 percent in the first quarter from the pre-vious period, Nomura Holdings Inc. economists led by Lu Ting said in a report on Saturday after the data release. That was a cut from their previous forecast of -1.5 percent in a Bloomberg survey last week.

Standard Chartered Plc already expected a -1.5 percent con-traction before the data, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. is fore-casting a 2 percent drop, according to reports after the release.

If the economy was to con-tract, it would be the first time that has happened in compa-rable data back to 2011.

Pacific Investment Man-agement Co. is another which sees the effects of the deadly outbreak causing a contraction, forecasting a 6 percent annu-alised drop in China’s first-quarter gross domestic product. Pimco’s view gels with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists who said in a report Friday that global GDP will shrink on a quarterly basis in the first two quarters of this year before rebounding in the second half.

The factory PMI data may improve in March, CICC ana-lysts including Yue Yan wrote in a note on Saturday.

“Strenuous containment measures were taken after the outbreak of COVID-19, which

understandably dampened eco-nomic activities in the short term,” they wrote. “With the outbreak gradually under control, government agencies have been clearing the unwanted obstacles for pro-duction resumption.”

Nomura’s Lu (pictured) also expects the March PMIs to rebound, but says activity data will be zero or negative as busi-nesses won’t be 100 percent back.

On a year-on-year com-parison, the median forecast for first-quarter GDP growth is 4.3 percent. That was before Saturday’s data. Nomura and ANZ both now see it rising 2 percent, while Standard Char-tered expects a 2.8 percent expansion.

China economy headed fordeeper contraction after fallin factory activity

Lithuania readies

IPO of state

energy firm

Ignitis Group

REUTERS — RIGA

Lithuania should list between a quarter and a third of its state-owned energy utility, which needs to raise billions of euros over the next few years to fund its operations, a Finance Ministry committee said on Friday.

According to the com-mittee, Ignitis Group will need €5 to €6bn($5.4-$6.5bn) by 2030 to ensure reliable energy generation, a modern distri-bution network and to develop renewable energy production capabilities.

“This would strengthen the country’s energy independence and... the IPO process itself could serve as a major break-through for the local capital market,” Lithuanian Finance Minister Vilius Sapoka said in a statement. The committee said Ignitis Group, which operates across the Baltic region, should be ready for the initial public offering (IPO) before September this year.

The exact time of the IPO will depend on the capital market conditions and might be later, a spokesperson for Ignitis Group wrote in an email to Reuters.

South Korea exports rise more than expected on chip salesBLOOMBERG — SEOUL

South Korea’s exports rose for the first time in more than a year on semiconductor sales, an increase that may be short-lived as the coronavirus outbreak takes its toll on world trade.

Exports increased 4.5 percent in February from a year earlier, the trade ministry said yesterday. Economists had forecast a 2.8 percent gain.

The actual flow of goods is likely worse than the headline figure suggests, skewed by the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday which added three business days to the month this year in many Asian economies, or roughly an 18 percent increase in work time compared with 2019. South Korea’s average daily shipments dropped 11.7 percent last month, the report showed. Activity in China’s manufacturing sector contracted sharply in Feb-ruary, data on Saturday showed.

Key Insights President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for “extraordinary” steps to shield the economy against the virus epidemic, as the number of domestic cases spike. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday the government is com-piling an extra budget with more than $5.1bn in spending aid.

Analysts have slashed pro-jections for the pace of the

country’s growth and the Bank of Korea on Thursday said there’s now a chance of con-traction in the first quarter.South Korea is an important bellwether of global tech demand because it’s the biggest producer of the memory chips in everything from computers to smartphones.”We’re now seeing tremendous short-term dis-ruption from Korea to Thailand to Italy, as companies realize this isn’t only a China issue,” said Nick Vyas from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.

“Looking ahead, weakened demand from China and dis-rupted supply chains will likely weigh on overseas sales for the next few months. Should the virus spread further and damp demand from other trade partners, exports would see more downside risk”, said Bloomberg economists.

Analysts have slashed projections for the pace of the country’s growth and the Bank of Korea said there’s now a chance of contraction in the first quarter.

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

QE Index 9,490.14 -0.61 %

QE Total Return Index 17,669.58 -0.61 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index - Price 2,045.71 -0.39 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,517.69 -0.38 %

QE All Share Index 2,861.83 -0.49 %

QE All Share Banks &

Financial Services 4,091.62 -0.43 %

QE All Share Industrials 2,463.70 +0.46 %

QE All Share Transportation 2,335.03 -0.45 %

QE All Share Real Estate 1,325.29 -1.95 %

QE All Share Insurance 2,451.40 -3.84 %

QE All Share Telecoms 807.38 -1.98 %

QE All Share Consumer Goods & Services 7,539.19

+0.16 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

27-02-2020Index 9,548.22

Change -155.66

% -0.61 %

YTD% -8.97

Volume 95,848,501

Value (QAR) 366,967,601.82

Trades 9,239

Up 13 | Down 26 | Unchanged 05

26-02-2020Index 9,548.22

Change -155.66

% -1.60 %

YTD% -8.41

Volume 69,716,469

Value (QAR) 231,876,688.36

Trades 9,184

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR193.5526 grammeSILVER QR2.1246 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low All Ordinaries 4207.354 110.624 2.7 5069.5 3829.4

CAC 40 Index/D 3176.13 -0.06 0 4169.87 2979.87

DAX - Composit/D 531.14 8.71 1.67 667.98 485.74

DJ Indu Average 0 0 0 12876 9936.39

Egypt Cma Gn Idx 675.91 13.3 0.95 1567.23 143.08

Hang Seng Inde/D 19783.67 452.97 2.34 24468.64 18868.11

ISEG Overall/D 2510.71 44.36 1.8 3037.89 2333.35

Karachi 100 In/D 11311.29 276.37 2.5 12768.4 11032.2

Nikkei 225 Index 9038.74 94.26 1.05 10891.6 8227.63

S&P 500 Index/D 0 0 0 1370.58 1039.7

Straits Times/D 2821.09 -62.91 -2.18 3280.77 2847

Currency Buying (QAR) Selling (QAR)

US$ 3.6305 3.6500

Pound Sterlig 4.6821 4.7471

Swiss Frnac 3.7086 3.7614

Japanese yen 0.03266 0.0333

Australian Dollar 2.3714 2.4181

Canadian Dollar 2.7145 2.768

Indian Rupee 0.0503 0.0513

Pakistan Rupee 0.0234 0.0239

Philipine Peso 0.0706 0.072

Bangala Takka 0.0425 0.0433

Sri lanka Rupee 0.0199 0.0203

Nepalese Rupee 0.0315 0.0321

South African Rand 0.2364 0.2411

Euro 3.9368 3.9919