2ND EASING MINIMAL COST - Gulf Times

Friday, September 13, 2019Muharram 14, 1441 AH

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

BoJ planning ways to deepen negative rates

Turkey central bank cuts rates by 325 points

MINIMAL COST | Page 32ND EASING | Page 2

SLOWING ECONOMY : Page 8

US core infl ation fi rming, but Fed still seen cutting interest rates

ECB cuts rates, revives QE to lift growth as Draghi era endsBloombergFrankfurt

The European Central Bank cut inter-est rates further below zero and will start open-ended bond purchases af-

ter president Mario Draghi overcame critics of his stimulus policies to make a fi nal run at refl ating the euro-area economy.

The ECB reduced the deposit rate to minus 0.5% from minus 0.4%, while giving banks an exemption from the charge for some of their deposits after an outcry from lend-ers about the squeeze on profi tability. It will buy debt at a pace of €20bn ($22bn) a month starting November 1.

“We have headroom to keep going on for some time at this rhythm,” Draghi, whose eight-year term ends next month, said at his press conference in Frankfurt. “We still think the probability of recession for the euro area is small, but it’s gone up.”

European government bonds rallied, led by a surge in Italian securities that sent 10-year yields to a record low, and credit spreads tightened. The dovish policy shift weighed on the euro, which weakened against its ma-jor counterparts, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose to its highest level since July.

Italian lenders were among the biggest gainers in the Bloomberg European Banks in-dex, after the ECB made its long-term loans cheaper.

“The risks surrounding the euro-area growth outlook remain tilted to the down-side. These risks mainly pertain to the pro-longed presence of uncertainties, related to geopolitical factors, the rising threat of pro-tectionism and vulnerabilities in emerging markets,”

Draghi in his press conference yesterday.The ECB also changed its guidance on in-

terest rates to say they’ll stay at present or lower levels until the outlook for infl ation “robustly” converges to its goal of just below 2%. It previously expected borrowing costs to stay unchanged until mid-2020. It also scrapped a 10-basis point rate premium pre-viously attached to its long-term loan pro-gramme.

US President Donald Trump tweeted that the ECB is “acting quickly” while the Federal Reserve “sits, and sits, and sits.” He has pre-viously cited loose ECB policy in his calls for

the Fed to cut rates aggressively. Questioned on that tweet, Draghi said “we don’t target exchange rates. Period.”

The Fed is likely to lower borrowing costs next week for the second time this year, as central banks around the world ease to com-bat the spreading weakness.

The ECB’s announcement of a new stimu-lus package is a remarkable turn of events, just nine months after it signalled it was done with ever-looser policy. Now infl ation is running at barely half the goal, and the manufacturing sector is in a contraction that risks spreading to the rest of the economy.

Hours before the decision, industrial-pro-duction fi gures showed the third quarter off to a weak start with eurozone output drop-ping 0.4% in July, more than expected. The decline was led by Germany, which is on the verge of a recession as a global slowdown in trade caused by the US-China standoff and the uncertainties surrounding Brexit hurts its exporters.

The approval of such broad measures is a win for Draghi in his penultimate meeting. Governors from core economies including Germany and the Netherlands pushed back against the resumption of quantitative eas-ing, saying it should be a last resort in case the outlook worsens.

He acknowledged the “diversity of views” on asset purchases but said that “in the end the consensus was so broad there was no need to take a vote.” He also said there was “no ap-petite” to raise the self-imposed limits on how much debt the ECB can buy, a key sticking point among critics who see QE as blurring the line between monetary and fi scal policy.

Still, there are doubts the ECB’s latest measures will prove as eff ective as hoped. Longer-term bond yields have already fallen sharply because of the economic slowdown, and another round of debt purchases might not exert much more downward pressure.

Academics have questioned the eff ective-ness of negative rates, with a recent study published by the University of Bath fi nding they decreased lending. The fact that the latest rate cut is accompanied by exemp-tions to soften the impact on banks will fuel those concerns. Lenders say they’re forced to absorb most of the cost of negative rates, a charge on their overnight deposits at the central bank, because they can’t easily be passed onto ordinary customers.

Trump delays China tariff increase as trade talks approach

Oil prices down 2% on US-China trade doubts, Opec+ talks

BloombergWashington/Beijing

US President Donald Trump said he was postponing the imposition of 5% extra tariff s on Chinese goods by two weeks, a move that delays the next escalation of the trade war and brightens the backdrop for upcoming negotiations.“At the request of the Vice Premier of China, Liu He, and due to the fact that the People’s Republic of China will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary on October 1st, we have agreed, as a gesture of good will, to move the increased Tariff s on 250bn Dollars worth of goods (25% to 30%), from October 1st to October 15th,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on Twitter.Negotiators are due to meet in Washington in coming weeks to push forward talks to end the trade war, which is causing increasing economic damage as it stretches

into its second year. There’s little sign that substantive progress is being made on the two countries’ diff erences, while Trump still has further tariff increases lined up.“The negotiators have had a year to come to an agreement, and they remain structurally at odds on key issues,” said Andrew Polk, co-founder of research firm Trivium China in Beijing. “Another two-week reprieve doesn’t change those fundamentals.”On Wednesday, China announced a range of US goods to be exempted from 25% extra tariff s enacted last year. While that may create some good will in Washington, China is keeping the pressure on US agricultural exports like soybeans produced in key Trump-supporting states.An editorial on Wednesday in the Communist Party-controlled Global Times newspaper said the exemptions were a goodwill gesture that would benefit some Chinese and US companies. The paper’s editor tweeted that he saw Trump’s decision

to postpone extra tariff s as creating “good vibes” for the early-October talks.“Trump’s goodwill gesture suggests that the trade war is starting to bite and the US may be more eager to close a deal,” said Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte in Singapore. “The clock is ticking and Trump’s approval ratings are sliding, with manufacturing now in recession.”Trump escalated the US-China trade war in August when he announced an increase in the levy on $250bn of Chinese goods to 30%, from 25%, starting October 1. Further increases are planned for December.The delay “shows Trump doesn’t want to increase tariff s before the trade talks in early October, and it creates good conditions,” said Tommy Xie, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp in Singapore. “It adds to the hope that there’ll be good news from the October meeting, and markets will wait and see.” Page 7

ReutersNew York

Oil prices fell 2% yesterday after a report

cast doubt on the possibility of an interim

US-China trade deal and as a meeting of

the Opec+ alliance yielded no decision on

deepening supply cuts.

Oil came under further pressure after the

European Central Bank cut its deposit

rate to a record low -0.5% from -0.4% and

said it will restart bond purchases of 20bn

euros a month from November to prop up

eurozone growth.

Brent crude futures were down $1.17, or

1.9%, at $59.64 a barrel by 11.43am EDT

(1543 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate

crude futures fell $1.25, or 2.2%, to $54.50

a barrel. Both were heading for a third

session of losses.

Oil futures extended their losses after

a senior White House off icial denied a

Bloomberg News report that the US was

considering a temporary trade agreement

with China, according to CNBC.

The prospect that the world’s two largest

economies made some concessions in

a protracted trade war, according to a

previous report, supported prices earlier

in the session.

“All of a sudden we had a ray of hope,”

said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures

Group in Chicago. “Now that they’re down-

playing that and, immediately, the stocks

went back down, gold came back up and

oil went back down.”

Also hitting oil prices were comments by

Saudi Arabia’s new energy minister, Prince

Abdulaziz bin Salman, who said deeper cuts

would not be decided before a meeting of

the Organization of the Petroleum Export-

ing Countries planned for December.

The meeting yielded a promise to keep

countries within the production quotas

they committed to in a global supply

deal, which would limit oil coming to the

market as Nigeria, Iraq and Russia have,

at times, produced more than their alloca-

tions.

“Everyone committed to compliance but

we’ve heard that before. I assume the mar-

ket will want to see proper cuts to react,”

said Giovanni Stauvono, analyst at UBS.

A statement from Opec and its allies, a

grouping known as Opec+, said oil stocks

in industrial countries remained above the

five-year average.

Oman’s energy minister said “the outlook

is not very good for 2020.”

Prince Abdulaziz said Saudi Arabia would

keep cutting by more than it pledged in

the pact that has throttled supply from

Opec+ by 1.2mn barrels per day.

Also feeding the bearish sentiment, the

International Energy Agency said surging

US output would make balancing the

market “daunting” in 2020.

“Booming shale production has allowed

the US to close in on, and briefly over-

take, Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil

exporter...in June, after crude exports

surged above 3mn bpd,” said the agency

which advises industrial economies on

energy policy in its monthly report. The

Paris-based IEA kept its oil demand growth

forecasts for this and next year at 1.1mn

bpd and 1.3mn bpd, respectively. Page 2

US beats Saudi to become top oil exporter on shale boomBloombergLondon

The US briefl y became the world’s No 1 oil ex-porter as record shale production found its way to global customers, and there are pros-

pects for more.Surging output from shale helped America ship

almost 9mn barrels a day of crude and oil products in June, surpassing Saudi Arabia, the International Energy Agency said in a report, citing gross export fi gures. There’s room to send even more supply over-seas as companies add infrastructure to transport the burgeoning production from fi elds in Texas and New Mexico to the coast.

Gains in US supply are undermining eff orts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, whose production cuts are in their third year in a bid to drain stockpiles. The swelling Ameri-can output, as well as deepening concerns over global demand fuelled by a prolonged US-China trade war, have prompted a drop of almost 20% in benchmark Brent crude from an April high.

The expansion in America’s exports in June was helped by a surge in crude-oil shipments to more than 3mn barrels a day, the IEA said. At the time, Saudi Arabia was cutting its exports as part of the Opec+ agreement, while Russian fl ows were con-strained by the Druzhba pipeline crisis.

The Saudis reclaimed the top exporter’s spot in July and August as hurricanes disrupted US produc-tion and the trade dispute “made it more diffi cult for shale shipments to fi nd markets,” the IEA said.

The tussle for the No 1 slot could remain tight in the months ahead. As Saudi Arabia continues to curb production, the IEA said America’s crude exports could rise by a further 33% from June levels to as much as 4mn barrels a day as new export infrastruc-ture gets built in the fourth quarter of this year.

Trump escalated the US-China trade war in August when he announced an increase in the levy on $250bn of Chinese goods to 30%, from 25%, starting October 1. Further increases are planned for December

ECB president Mario Draghi attends a news conference on the outcome of the meeting of the Governing Council, in Frankfurt yesterday. The ECB reduced the deposit rate to minus 0.5% from minus 0.4%, while giving banks an exemption from the charge for some of their deposits after an outcry from lenders about the squeeze on profitability.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Friday, September 13, 20192

QSE snaps 4-day winning streak on local retail selling pressureBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter

Increased selling pressure from local retail investors yesterday drove the Qatar Stock Exchange down about five points, after four consecutive days of gains.Gulf institutions were also seen bearish as the 20-stock Qatar Index witnessed 0.05% fall to 10,461.65 points.The banking and transport counters witnessed profit booking in the market, whose key benchmark settled 1.58% higher year-to-date.Market capitalisation saw QR71mn, or 0.12%, gains to QR578.61bn mainly owing to microcap segments.Islamic equities were seen declining faster than the other indices in the market, where foreign funds

continued to be net buyers but with lesser intensity.Trade turnover and volumes were on the decline in the bourse, where the banking, realty and industrials sectors together accounted for more than 89% of the total volume.The Total Return Index was down 0.05% to 19,250.33 points and the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.12% to 2,349.88 points, while the All Share Index gained by 0.11% to 3,081.76 points.The banks and financial services index declined 0.32% and transport 0.19%; while telecom gained 1.63%, real estate (1.58%), consumer goods (0.33%), industrials (0.11%) and insurance (0.05%).Major losers included Mazaya Qatar, Alijarah Holding, Al Khaliji, Qatar Islamic Bank, Zad Holding, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing,

Doha Insurance and Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance; whereas Ooredoo, Islamic Holding Group, Medicare Group, Qatar National Cement, Qatari Investors Group and Qatar Electricity and Water were among the gainers.Local retail investors’ net selling increased noticeably to QR23.38mn compared to QR17.87mn on September 11.Gulf institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR3.55mn against net buyers of QR2.7mn the previous day.Gulf individuals were also net sellers to the extent of QR0.25mn compared with net buyers of QR0.77mn on Wednesday.Non-Qatari funds’ net buying decreased considerably to QR32.22mn against QR51.55mn on September 11.However, non-Qataris turned net

buyers to the tune of QR1.23mn compared with net sellers of QR6.07mn the previous day.Domestic funds’ net profit booking weakened significantly to QR6.29mn against QR31.08mn on Wednesday.Total trade volume fell 18% to 128.85mn shares and value by 18% to QR251.71mn, while transactions were up 4% to 7,837.The transport sector’s trade volume plummeted 61% to 3.5mn equities, value by 61% to QR12.68mn and deals by 43% to 282.The insurance sector reported a 52% plunge in trade volume to 1.12mn stocks, 43% in value to QR4.56mn and 55% in transactions to 143.The consumer goods sector’s trade volume tanked 44% to 1.76mn shares, value by 35% to QR17.04mn and deals by 31% at 515.

The banks and financial services sector’s trade volume shrank 31% to 47.59mn equities, value by 15% to QR118.61mn and transactions by 21% to 1,846.The real estate sector saw a 23% shrinkage in trade volume to 40.66mn stocks and 19% in value to QR34.03mn but on a 79% increase in deals to 2,200.However, the industrials sector’s trade volume almost doubled to 27mn shares, value soared 15% to QR39.28mn and transactions by 29% to 1,936.There was a a 16% expansion in the telecom sector’s trade volume to 7.22mn equities, 3% in value to QR25.5mn and 1% in deals to 915.In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and sovereign bonds.

Turkey central bank cuts rates 325 points in second easing moveCentral bank cuts 750 bps since mid-July; economists say further rate cuts to be limited; Turkish inflation expected to fall on base eff ect

ReutersIstanbul

Turkey’s central bank cut its policy rate by 325 basis points to 16.5% yesterday, delivering its second

aggressive policy easing in less than two months as it seeks to boost a recession-hit economy and put last year’s currency cri-sis behind it.

The bank cited a recent decline in infl a-tion and a global shift to easier monetary policy as it lowered its benchmark one-week repo rate from 19.75%, marking its latest step away from the emergency set-tings adopted last year.

“At this point the current monetary policy stance, to a large part, is considered to be consistent with the projected dis-infl ation path,” the central bank said in a statement. The “infl ation outlook contin-ued to improve” and in August “displayed a signifi cant fall”, it added.

The central bank statement signalled further rate cuts would be limited, Ercan Erguzel from Morgan Stanley said in a note, maintaining his year-end policy rate forecast at 15.75%.

“We read this statement as a signal that next moves in the policy rate are more likely to be measured compared to the last two big cuts,” Erguzel said, adding that he expects a 75 basis point cut at the central bank’s next meeting on October 24.

The move means the bank has cut its policy rate by 750 basis points since mid-July.

It slashed interest rates by 425 points from 24% seven weeks ago in its fi rst pol-icy change since the depths of the crisis,

which tipped the largest economy in the Middle East into recession.

The lira fi rmed to 5.6825 against the dollar after the announcement, from 5.7500 beforehand, and was up about 1% on the day on relief that the central bank did not slash rates far more than initially expected.

The Turkish currency traded at 5.6670 at 1229 GMT, after the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its deposit rate to an all-time low of -0.5% and restarted its bond-buying programme known as quantitative easing.

The lira lost some 30% of its value against the dollar last year and infl ation soared to a 15-year high above 25%. Infl a-tion has since eased to 15% and is expected to fall briefl y to single digits in October thanks to the “base eff ect” measurement against last year’s spike.

The decline in infl ation and a shift among the world’s major central banks to a more accommodative policy stance have stemmed further losses in the lira this year and paved the way for the Turkish rate cuts, which are set to continue until year-end according to economists.

According to a Reuters poll on Tuesday, economists expected the bank to lower rates by a median of 250 basis points.

However before the decision, swap-market traders were expecting a cut of be-tween 300 and 400 points.

Central bank governor Murat Uysal, ap-pointed by Turkish President Recep Tayy-ip Erdogan in early July after his predeces-sor did not follow policy instructions, has said policy will aim to deliver a “reason-able” real interest rate.

Yesterday, the central bank said a “cau-tious” policy stance was necessary to keep the “disinfl ation process on track.” It added that infl ation would likely slide “slightly below” its year-end forecast of 13.9%, which it made in July.

Opec+ faces ‘daunting’ oil market surplus in 2020: IEA

BloombergLondon

As Opec and its allies met yesterday,

the IEA said it faces a significant

challenge in managing the market

into 2020.

Demand for the group’s crude in

the first half of 2020 will be 1.4mn

barrels a day below its August

output as production surges from

their competitors, including the US.

Though an increase in stockpiles

has taken a pause for now, growth in

other countries, including Brazil and

Norway means that 2020 could see

a significant increase in oil stockpiles

and pressure on prices.

As an illustration of the challenge

Opec is facing, the US briefly

overtook Saudi Arabia as the world’s

largest oil exporter in June.

A committee of Opec+ members met

in Abu Dhabi yesterday to discuss

compliance with output cuts that are

due to expire in March. Though Rus-

sia said earlier this week that deeper

cuts are currently off the agenda,

the International Energy Agency’s

balances suggest the group’s current

production levels won’t be enough to

prevent a return to inventory builds

next year. “The challenge of market

management remains a daunting

one well into 2020,” the agency said

in its monthly report. “Soon, the

Opec+ producers will once again

see surging non-Opec oil production

with the implied market balance

returning to a significant surplus and

placing pressure on prices.”

Supply from outside the Organiza-

tion of Petroleum Exporting Coun-

tries will grow by 1.3mn barrels a day

in the second half of the year, after

an “enormous production surge”

over the same period last year. That

will be followed by a 2.3mn barrel

a day increase in 2020. “While the

relentless stock builds we have seen

since early 2018 have halted, this is

temporary,” the IEA said.

Much of the growth continues to

come from the expansion of US

output, but there are several projects

elsewhere also boosting the figure.

Norway’s giant Johan Sverdrup field

will come online before the end

of the year and produce 440,000

barrels a day by the middle of 2020,

while seven new production units

have started in Brazil since the end of

last year, the IEA said.

Opec+ tells members to make pledged cuts as surplus looms

BloombergDubai/Abu Dhabi

Opec+ responded to grow-ing concerns that a slowing economy could tip the oil

market back into surplus by apply-ing additional pressure to members that haven’t implemented their promised production cuts.

It’s a familiar refrain from the group, which since its inception in 2016 has struggled to get members including Iraq, Kazakhstan and Russia to live up to their commit-ments. Oil prices fell.

Ministers who gathered in Abu Dhabi yesterday didn’t discuss deepening the supply curbs set out in last year’s agreement, although they could revisit the issue in De-cember, Oman’s Oil Minister Mo-hammed al-Rumhy told report-ers after the meeting. Instead they pressed all members to reduce out-put in line with their existing quo-tas.

“Every country counts regard-less of its size” and should pull its weight, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the opening session of the meeting. If the group’s laggards caught up and implemented their promised cuts, al-Rumhy said that could remove another 400,000 to 500,000 barrels a day from the market.

Iraq and Nigeria are the worst of-fenders, having actually increased production since last year’s deal. They pledged to reduce daily out-put from current levels by 175,000 and 56,000 barrels, respectively, by the end of October. Neither of those reductions would bring them back into alignment with their out-put targets, Opec data show. Russia also promised to get back in line, after exceeding its quota by about 104,000 barrels a day in August.

“It’s voluntary, but of course we will honour our commitment,” Iraq’s Oil Minister Thamir Ghadh-ban told reporters after the meeting.

Crude has lurked near $60 for

most of the summer, too low to cover the budgets of many nations in the group, notably Saudi Ara-bia. Prices are under pressure as increasing fears of a looming re-cession prompt downgrades to oil-demand forecasts, while US shale oil production continues to break records.

There’s an uphill battle facing the group. Even as Iran’s exports have been slashed by US sanctions, Ven-ezuela’s output has slumped amid an economic crisis, and Saudi Ara-bia has cut three times deeper than initially planned, prices have only been supported at about $60.

Crude came under further pres-sure on Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported that US President Donald Trump has discussed eas-ing sanctions on Iran to help secure a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani later this month. Any deal that would ease the prohibition on purchases of Iranian crude would only add to the looming 2020 over-supply.

Kuwait Finance House to buy AUB in $8.8bn dealBloombergDubai

Kuwait Finance House KSCP agreed to buy Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank BSC in an all-share

deal that’s valued at about $8.8bn.The Kuwaiti lender off ered 1 share

for every 2.325581 shares of Ahli Unit-ed, according to a statement. In Janu-ary, the banks’ advisers had recom-mended the same swap ratio.

The combined entity will potentially become the Gulf’s sixth-biggest lend-er with $100bn in assets and the deal value was based on the lenders’ closing price yesterday. Kuwait Finance House shares have gained 27% this year to 707 fi ls, while AUB shares are up 51% to 94.1 US cents.

Lower oil prices over the past fi ve years are forcing Gulf lenders to con-solidate for scale and to better compete in a crowded market. Subdued credit growth, competition for deposits, higher cost of funds and deteriorating asset quality are driving consolidation in the regional banking sector.

Gulf institutions were also bearish as the 20-stock Qatar Index witnessed a 0.05% fall to 10,461.65 yesterday

Lebanon Eurobond sale deemed unlikely at current market rates

Lebanon’s government is unlikely to tap

international bond markets at current

market rates, an off icial said, days after

the indebted country’s finance minister

announced plans for a sale of up to $2bn in

November, according to Bloomberg.

The off icial spoke on condition of anonym-

ity because the information isn’t public.

The government has to find 11tn Lebanese

pounds ($7.3bn) to repay debt, including

$1.65bn in the coming four months, though

some of it could be financed through new

local-currency bonds, according to Finance

Minister Ali Hasan Khalil. With one of the

world’s biggest debt burdens, the govern-

ment has pledged measures to reduce its

deficit and implement reforms, including

fixing the ailing electricity sector.

The headquarters of Turkey’s central bank seen in Ankara (file). The bank cited a recent decline in inflation and a global shift to easier monetary policy as it lowered its benchmark one-week repo rate from 19.75%, marking its latest step away from the emergency settings adopted last year.

A woman walks past the logo of Opec at the joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Ministers who gathered didn’t discuss deepening the supply curbs set out in last year’s agreement, although they could revisit the issue in December, Oman’s Oil Minister Mohammed al-Rumhy told reporters after the meeting. Instead they pressed all members to reduce output in line with their existing quotas.

BUSINESS3Gulf Times

Friday, September 13, 2019

ReutersTokyo

The Bank of Japan is brainstorm-ing ways to deepen negative in-terest rates at minimal cost, as it

considers adopting it as a main policy response to a slowing economy and in-tensifying global risks, sources familiar with the bank’s thinking said.

Any such move will likely be com-bined with measures to prevent the yield curve from fl attening too much, as excessive declines in long- and super-long yields will erode profi t margins of fi nancial institutions, they said.

As global risks threaten Japan’s eco-nomic recovery, the BoJ policymakers are more open to discussing the possi-bility of expanding stimulus as early as next week’s rate review.

With markets calm for now, the BoJ is leaning towards holding fi re at the Sep-tember 18-19 meeting unless bolder-than expected monetary easing steps by its European and US peers stoke turbu-lence in markets and lead to an unwel-come yen spike, the sources said.

The BoJ’s meeting follows the Euro-pean Central Bank’s policy announce-ment on September 12 and that of the US Federal Reserve on September 18.

“Regardless of when the BoJ acts, it must start thinking of what it can do.

In doing so, it’s very important to consider the side-eff ects (of additional easing),” one of the sources said on con-dition of anonymity.

BoJ policymakers are debating ideas on what tools they could deploy in com-ing months, if not next week, to prevent slumping global demand from derailing Japan’s fragile economic recovery, the sources said.

Pushing its short-term rate target

deeper into negative territory is the most likely option if the goal is to boost economic growth via lower borrowing costs, the sources said.

The major concern for the BoJ poli-cymakers in considering deepening negative rates is that such a move risks triggering sharp declines in long-term bond yields and hurting fi nancial insti-tutions’ earnings, they added.

Yet, preventing that from happening is no easy task, as pushing down short-term rates would naturally put down-ward pressure on long-term borrowing costs.

The dilemma underscores the limits of negative rates, something US Presi-dent Donald Trump called for but has only been reluctantly adopted by other world central banks to battle weak eco-

nomic growth given dwindling ammu-nition.

After years of massive stimulus and super-low rates, the BoJ is left with a diminishing policy arsenal and fi nds it-self boxed into a corner.

“It’s undesirable for the yield curve to fl atten too much,” another sources said, a view echoed by two other sources. “It would go against the principle of yield

curve control.” Under yield curve con-trol (YCC), the BoJ guides short-term rates towards -0.1% and the 10-year government bond yield to around 0%. It also buys government bonds and risky assets in a bid to achieve its elusive 2% infl ation target.

Deepening negative rates is highly controversial as it would crush already thin margins fi nancial institutions earn from lending.

Still, it is considered the most eff ec-tive tool to keep yen rises in check and spur growth via lower borrowing costs.

The key is to keep the yield curve steep enough to leave some breath-ing space for banks, as well as pension funds and insurance fi rms that invest in super-long bonds.

Signalling its displeasure over fall-ing long-term yields, the BoJ cut bond purchases in market operations when the 10-year bond yield slid to -0.295% on August 4, well below the -0.2% level considered by markets by the bank’s line in the sand.

That day, the 20-year bond yield fell to 0.015%, barely staying above zero.

“The BoJ won’t tolerate super-long yields falling below zero,” the second source said. There is no consensus yet on what the best approach would be to keep excessive yield falls in check.

The fi rst step could be to commu-nicate more clearly the BoJ’s resolve to battle any unwelcome decline in super-long yields via slower bond purchases, the sources said.

BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda did just that when he fi red a warning last week, telling the Nikkei newspaper in an interview that super-long yields have fallen “a bit too far.”

“It’s tricky but what’s important is to keep the yield curve in an appropriate shape,” a third source said.

BoJ planning ways to deepennegative rates at minimal cost

Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda at a press conference in Tokyo. BoJ policymakers are debating ideas on what tools they could deploy in coming months, if not next week, to prevent slumping global demand from derailing Japan’s fragile economic recovery, sources said yesterday.

Trade war spurs China’s technology innovators into overdriveBloombergBeijing

In Shenzhen’s glitzy financial district, a

five-year-old outfit creates a 360-degree

sports camera that goes on to win awards

and draw comparisons to GoPro Inc.

Elsewhere in the Pearl River Delta, a

niche design house is competing with the

world’s best headphone makers.

And in the capital Beijing, a little-known

startup becomes one of the biggest pur-

veyors of smartwatches on the planet.

Insta360, SIVGA and Huami join drone

maker DJI Technology Co among a wave

of startups that are dismantling the

decades-old image of China as a clone

factory – and adding to Washington’s

concerns about its fast-ascending interna-

tional rival.

Within the world’s No 2 economy,

Trump’s campaign to contain China’s rise

is in fact spurring its burgeoning tech sec-

tor to accelerate design and invention.

The threat they pose is one of un-

matchable geography: by bringing design

expertise and innovation to the place

where devices are manufactured, these

companies are able to develop products

faster and more cheaply.

“Ninety per cent of the world’s head-

phones are produced in China, 90% of

China’s headphones are produced in

Guangdong, and 90% of Guangdong’s

headphones are made in Dongguan,”

explains SIVGA co-founder and product

chief Zhou Jian, an 18-year audio industry

veteran who has done work for global

brands like Sennheiser Electronic GmbH

& Co, Sony and Bose. His company is

based in Dongguan because, he says,

“Dongguan’s industrial chain is near

perfect.” Zhou estimates there are hun-

dreds of specialist factories in the area

focusing on a particular component, such

as screws, and his network of contacts

among those suppliers has been invalu-

able.

It was “support from these good

friends” that got SIVGA, short for Sound

Impression Via Genuine Artwork, off the

ground.

Now employing more than 30 people

and off ering a premium brand called

Sendy Audio, SIVGA sells a luxury pair of

$599 headphones called Aiva.

Featuring handcrafted wooden ear

cups and intricately detailed metal grilles,

the Aiva have shipped more than 2,000

units into a niche, high-margin market

that’s usually reserved for US boutique

outfits like Audeze and Campfire Audio.

“As far as we know, we are the only com-

pany in Dongguan with a woodworking

department,” Zhou says, while also point-

ing out that at SIVGA “the development

time is short and many decisions can be

made on the spot.” This instant design

responsiveness is a signature feature

of China’s new tech upstarts, and Zhou

sums it up with an old Chinese proverb:

“small boats change course easier than

big boats.”

DJI is the pioneer that proved Chinese

tech companies could aspire to be more

than just manufacturing contractors

or fast copiers. “DJI leads the industry

with features like automatically avoiding

obstacles in flight, which it implemented

first,” notes Techsponential lead analyst

Avi Greengart. “Rivals in the US, France

and Taiwan have not been able to catch

up.” DJI’s lead is based on the same geo-

graphic synergies as SIVGA’s.

When a US rival suff ers a manufactur-

ing hitch or defect, its ability to identify

and react to the problem is hampered

by the distance between its designers

and manufacturers. DJI doesn’t have that

problem, which has helped propel it to

being the top drone maker in the world.

“These are Chinese companies that

want to be industry leaders and innova-

tors. DJI and Insta360 are perfect exam-

ples of that movement,” says Anshel Sag,

mobile industry analyst for Moor Insights

& Strategy. “A big part of it comes from

the entrepreneurial spirit of Shenzhen.”

Like Dongguan, which this year saw

a large new Huawei Technologies Co

campus open, Shenzhen is a nexus of

component makers and suppliers eager

to find new customers for their wares.

The cacophonous Huaqiangbei bazaar

in the city exhibits a wild array of gadgets

from smartphone-electric shaver hybrids

to neon-lit unicycles with Bluetooth

speakers.

That commoditised fray off ers inspira-

tion but also an impetus to rise above it

with genuine innovation.

The successful companies are the ones

who make the most of the rabid produc-

tion and iteration around them.

“In Shenzhen, there’s a well-established

supply chain system,” says Insta360

founder Liu Jingkang. “From a research

perspective, in-house R&D may only con-

tribute 60% of a product, the rest needs

to be finished in factories.” The CEO of

OnePlus, another company based in the

city, has expressed pride in its ability to

prototype new devices at great speed

because he’s just a 45-minute drive away

from its assembly lines.

Even without being Apple Inc, Chinese

companies are now building world-class,

premium products, though China’s

signature feature of undercutting the

established market remains.

Whether or not a Chinese company is

first to a technology, it makes sure to be

first to a breakthrough price.

Xiaomi Mi Band Backed by Xiaomi

Corp in 2014, Huami is responsible for

creating the massively popular Xiaomi

Mi Band, which has flooded the China

market at a $20 price.

The Mi Band off ers most of the features

of a Fitbit fitness tracker – including step

counting and heart-rate monitoring – at a

fraction of the cost.

After expanding to sales in the US and

launching its own Amazfit brand, Huami

is now shipping in excess of 5mn devices

per quarter, and its chief executive talks

openly about “taking out” at least some

of its larger rivals, including Apple and

Samsung Electronics Co. “The operating

models for Garmin and other European

and US smart device vendors are flawed.

Their retail price is very high,” Huami

CEO and founder Wang Huang says. “You

will only be able to sell very expensive

products to a very small group of custom-

ers because mainstream and lower-end

markets will be eroded by companies

like us.”

Evidence for the Huami chief’s words

abounds in the smartphone market,

where the top group of manufacturers

is increasingly dominated by Chinese

names like Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei.

2018 saw these brands make major

inroads into the European market, rely-

ing on better pricing and faster feature

introductions.

Pakistan Cabinet poised to approve CPEC Authority ordinanceInternewsIslamabad

Amid opposition from the parliamentary panel on China-Pakistan Econom-

ic Corridor (CPEC), the cabinet is set to give the go-ahead for promulgating an ordinance for setting up the CPEC Author-ity that will oversee work on projects in which a third country is involved besides Islamabad and Beijing.

The government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) argues that CPEC is going to enter a new phase where a third party like Saudi Arabia will also take part in the gigantic economic corridor.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to invest billions of dollars in set-ting up an oil refi nery in Gwadar.

It is also interested in pour-ing capital into other industrial projects in the port city of Balo-chistan.

Sources said that the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Leg-islative Cases had considered a draft CPEC Authority ordinance and recommended the cabinet to notify and promulgate the ordi-nance.

The cabinet, in its meeting scheduled to be held on Sep-tember 17 and chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, would consider the recommendation for promulgating the CPEC Au-thority ordinance.

However, the parliamentary committee on CPEC, in a meet-ing held last week, rejected the government’s proposal of es-tablishing the CPEC Author-ity, arguing that it would create more confusion about billions of dollars worth of projects being executed under the CPEC pro-gramme.

Work on CPEC began in 2015 after the signing of a memoran-dum of understanding between the governments of Pakistan and China. Focal ministries of Pakistan and China were the Ministry of Planning and Devel-opment and the National Devel-opment and Reform Commis-sion respectively.

In a summary sent to the cabinet, it was highlighted that CPEC was now going to enter the next phase with the incor-poration of additional areas such as trade and market access, industrial cooperation, socio-economic development, poverty alleviation, agriculture, Gwadar development and regional con-nectivity.

Yahoo Japan to buy online fashion fi rm ZozoAFPTokyo

Yahoo Japan said yesterday it will acquire a majority stake in the online fashion re-tailer Zozo founded by billionaire Yusaku

Maezawa, known for buying pricey art and his space travel plans.

The Japanese IT giant, a subsidiary of tel-ecoms giant and investor SoftBank Group, aims to buy up to 152.95mn shares or a 50.1% stake in Zozo.

The cost of the acquisition will be as high as ¥400.7bn ($3.7bn), with Yahoo Japan off ering a 21% premium over Zozo’s Wednesday closing price.

The deal includes an agreement to acquire 92.7mn shares from Maezawa, equivalent to the 30.37% he owns in Zozo.

Maezawa, known for his extravagant lifestyle and eccentric comments, will step down as Zozo chief executive from yesterday.

“I will leave Zozo’s future in the hands of a new president, and I’ll move on to a new path,” he said in a tweet.

The 43-year-old former wannabe rock star

has a personal fortune this year valued around $2bn, making him Japan’s 22nd richest person.

He made international headlines by booking a ticket aboard a SpaceX rocket, as well as for his purchase in 2017 of a Jean-Michel Basquiat masterpiece for $110.5mn.

At a press conference on Thursday, Maezawa cited his space plans and ambition to start a new business as reasons for stepping down.

“I’m planning a Moon trip in 2023 and prepa-rations have been making smooth progress.

“As I need to spend more and more time on the preparations and training, I decided to make a clean resignation,” he said.

Maezawa said he was also planning to go to space one more time and details would be dis-closed later.

While describing the 21 years he spent to build the Zozo group were “like a dream”, he said he wanted to start a new business, without elabo-rating.

The move by Yahoo Japan is part of its eff orts to strengthen its e-commerce businesses.

Yahoo Japan shares soared 2.35% on the To-kyo bourse yesterday after it announced it would take a majority stake in Zozo.

The stock of Zozo rocketed 13.43%.

Yahoo Japan CEO Kentaro Kawabe speaks during a news conference on their takeover of Japan’s online fashion retailer Zozo Inc in Tokyo. The Japanese IT giant, a subsidiary of telecoms giant and investor SoftBank Group, aims to buy up to 152.95mn shares or a 50.1% stake in Zozo.

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 Exchange Index Etf

Qatar Cinema & Film DistribAl Rayan Qatar Etf

Qatar Insurance CoQatar Aluminum Manufacturing

Ooredoo QpscNational Leasing

Mazaya Qatar Real Estate DevMesaieed Petrochemical Holdi

Al Meera Consumer Goods CoMedicare Group

Mannai Corporation QscMasraf Al Rayan

Al Khalij Commercial BankIndustries Qatar

Islamic Holding GroupInvestment Holding Group

Gulf Warehousing CompanyGulf International Services

Ezdan Holding GroupDoha Insurance Co

Doha Bank QpscDlala Holding

Commercial Bank PsqcBarwa Real Estate Co

Al Khaleej Takaful GroupAl Ahli Bank

13.41

6.29

1.25

1.37

0.42

0.51

5.76

5.79

19.45

6.08

3.21

8.96

1.94

16.10

2.45

3.92

0.63

23.11

0.33

15.33

10.30

2.16

2.35

3.31

0.82

7.78

0.69

0.74

2.80

15.40

7.53

3.43

3.61

1.18

11.10

2.00

0.52

4.80

1.64

0.70

1.05

2.68

0.69

4.56

3.40

1.83

0.73

-2.05

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.95

-1.35

-0.69

1.22

-0.21

-1.94

-2.73

-0.22

0.52

-0.31

0.00

-0.76

0.00

0.48

-0.91

0.52

-0.10

0.00

0.43

0.30

0.00

2.37

-2.13

-1.98

0.00

-0.26

2.59

0.00

-1.10

0.00

0.00

1.01

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.03

-1.87

-0.37

-0.43

0.22

-0.87

0.55

0.41

69,997

71,265

4,682,852

3,214,283

216,263

160,590

1,159,788

760,228

2,519,245

473,017

17,616

1,394,190

663,261

582,490

2,231,415

30,354

156,000

337,048

30,174,561

173,754

1,431

-

4,105

337,668

3,045,605

2,538,088

1,865,130

649,559

2,497,279

115,748

775,757

17,760

3,893,715

2,019,351

652,976

671,695

1,251,177

107,197

489,792

35,493,984

115,000

352,979

37,150

3,855,875

1,304,320

163,690

17,447,426

QATAR

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

KUWAIT


OMAN


KUWAIT


KUWAIT


LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

Oman PackagingOman Oil Marketing Company

Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance

Oman Intl MarketingOman Flour Mills

Oman Fisheries CoOman Europe Foods Industries

Oman Education & Training InOman Chromite

Oman ChlorineOman Ceramic Company

Oman Cement CoOman Cables Industry

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

National Real Estate DevelopNational Mineral Water

National Life & General InsuNational Gas Co

National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog

National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog

Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat Insurance Co Saog

Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance

Muscat City Desalination CoMajan Glass Company

Majan CollegeHsbc Bank Oman

Hotels Management Co InternaGulf Stone

Gulf Mushroom CompanyGulf Investments Services

Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-SharGulf International Chemicals

Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co LtdGlobal Fin Investment

Galfar Engineering&ContractGalfar Engineering -Prefer

Financial Services Co.Financial Corp/The

Dhofar TourismDhofar Poultry

Dhofar Intl DevelopmentDhofar Insurance

Dhofar Generating Co SaocDhofar Fisheries & Food Indu

Dhofar CattlefeedDhofar Beverages Co

Construction Materials IndComputer Stationery Inds

Bankmuscat SaogBank Nizwa

Bank Dhofar SaogArabia Falcon Insurance Co

Aloula CoAl-Omaniya Financial Service

Al-Hassan Engineering CoAl-Fajar Al-Alamia Co

Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles CoAl Suwadi Power

Al Sharqiya Invest HoldingAl Maha Petroleum Products M

Al Maha Ceramics Co SaocAl Madina Takaful Co Saoc

Al Madina Investment CoAl Kamil Power Co

Al Jazerah Services -PfdAl Jazeera Steel Products Co

Al Jazeera ServicesAl Izz Islamic Bank

Al Buraimi HotelAl Batinah PowerAl Batinah Hotels

Al Batinah Dev & InvAl Anwar Holdings Saog

Al Ahlia Insurance Co SaocAhli Bank

Acwa Power Barka SaogAbrasives Manufacturing Co S

A’saff a Foods Saog0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref

#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security

0.27

1.07

0.14

0.12

0.52

0.66

0.08

1.00

0.23

3.64

0.36

0.42

0.23

0.81

0.07

0.19

5.00

0.09

0.31

0.21

0.14

0.70

3.92

0.18

0.08

0.78

0.16

0.07

0.12

0.18

0.17

0.13

1.25

0.12

0.31

0.08

0.11

0.14

9.50

0.07

0.08

0.39

0.05

0.10

0.49

0.18

0.30

0.18

0.19

1.28

0.14

0.26

0.04

0.26

0.45

0.09

0.14

0.10

0.53

0.09

0.02

0.75

0.10

0.07

0.09

0.80

0.17

0.08

0.02

0.38

0.55

0.23

0.13

0.07

0.88

0.07

1.13

0.08

0.09

0.32

0.12

0.66

0.05

0.60

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

6.87

0.86

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.69

0.00

2.78

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

8.95

1.45

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.99

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.70

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.79

0.00

0.00

9.92

0.00

2.56

0.00

0.00

1.09

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.20

14.29

0.00

0.00

-1.35

8.24

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

3.33

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

-

22,029

1,050,317

-

450

20,000

-

-

-

-

-

152,700

1,000

41,463

-

-

-

-

873,263

23,500

-

-

634,825

-

130

-

895,306

-

-

-

950,000

-

-

-

1,233,385

-

-

-

-

8,363,080

-

-

-

-

-

-

7,045

-

-

16,000

-

39,000

-

148,385

60,506

20,000

-

-

1,536,288

9,415,000

-

468,570

12,192

2,679,352

-

2,000

358,000

153,456

-

-

-

3,000

134,902

-

509,394

-

10,000

268,292

-

62,700

-

-

-

-

-

-

Al-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment

Mabanee Co SakcInovest Co Bsc

Al-Deera Holding CoMena Real Estate Co

Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects For Aviation

National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International InvestmeEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C

Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc

Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co KNational Shooting CompanyAl-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp

Wethaq Takaful Insurance CoSalbookh Trading Co Kscp

Aqar Real Estate InvestmentsHayat Communications

Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscTamkeen Holding Co

Alargan International RealBurgan Co For Well Drilling

Kuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co

Palms Agro Production CoMubarrad Holding Co Ksc

Shuaiba Industrial CoAan Digital Services Co

First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co

National Cleaning CompanyUnited Real Estate Company

AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv

Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng

International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold

Warba Insurance CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve

Al Arabi Group Holding CoKuwait Hotels Sak

Mobile Telecommunications CoEff ect Real Estate Co

Tamdeen Real Estate Co KscAl Mudon Intl Real Estate Co

Kuwait Cement Co KscSharjah Cement & Indus Devel

Kuwait Portland Cement CoEducational Holding Group

Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceAsiya Capital Investments Co

Kuwait Investment CoBurgan Bank

Kuwait Projects Co HoldingsAl Madina For Finance And In

Kuwait Insurance CoAl Masaken Intl Real Estate

Intl Financial AdvisorsFirst Investment Co Kscc

Al Mal Investment CompanyBayan Investment Co Kscc

Egypt Kuwait Holding Co SaeCoast Investment Development

Privatization Holding CompanInjazzat Real State Company

Kuwait Cable Vision SakSanam Real Estate Co Kscc

Ithmaar Holding BscAviation Lease And Finance C

Arzan Financial Group For FiAjwan Gulf Real Estate Co

Kuwait Business Town Real EsFuture Kid Entertainment And

Specialities Group Holding CAbyaar Real Eastate Developm

Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate CKgl Logistics Company Kscc

Combined Group ContractingJiyad Holding Co Ksc

Warba Capital Holding CoGulf Investment House Ksc

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

Osos Holding Group Co

108.00

23.80

739.00

62.80

12.50

38.00

41.00

440.00

55.00

55.00

18.90

78.10

73.40

22.50

210.00

1,240.00

10.70

430.00

28.00

41.10

77.70

60.00

118.00

5.20

129.00

93.50

58.00

118.00

59.00

61.00

160.00

16.90

42.50

37.50

59.90

62.00

717.00

78.90

51.00

180.00

13.50

222.00

60.10

32.90

80.40

100.00

537.00

20.50

300.00

18.00

271.00

64.00

1,200.00

320.00

200.00

34.30

138.00

329.00

230.00

17.00

333.00

63.10

52.90

33.60

13.10

41.80

450.00

33.00

56.50

80.00

20.00

37.50

22.30

259.00

26.30

13.50

38.30

86.10

71.00

13.70

162.00

39.80

233.00

43.70

71.00

45.40

541.00

283.00

103.00

-0.92

0.00

1.09

0.00

-0.79

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

10.00

0.00

-0.51

-0.14

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.97

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.36

-0.84

0.00

0.16

0.00

1.20

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.64

-0.97

-0.13

2.82

0.00

0.00

1.37

-7.11

-4.08

3.08

0.00

-2.01

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.23

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.90

1.32

0.59

0.00

0.00

3.32

0.30

1.55

7.18

0.00

0.92

2.91

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.57

1.94

0.75

-6.13

-0.58

-4.18

0.00

0.00

-0.25

0.43

0.00

0.85

-9.20

-0.73

2.17

0.00

161,100

478,950

760,554

-

153,673

1,154,857

-

-

-

1,048

-

2,325

79,195

550

-

-

37,418

-

-

244,310

-

50

3,900

-

-

-

36,484

14,436

-

66,150

-

3,854,230

-

304,000

30,000

48,982

1,374,652

431,632

12,000

-

-

7,421,289

68,527

51,700

633,961

-

3,688,734

-

-

210,750

410

540,010

-

-

-

-

25,015

3,297,245

4,098,942

3,000

-

-

675,260

1,181,006

290,833

21,100

-

62,884

995,853

-

-

-

-

52,353

8,059,678

1,752,500

498,351

767

64,501

452,850

-

302,293

921,217

-

39,921

20,556

1,020,474

16,245,042

-

Al-Eid Food KscQurain Petrochemical Industr

Advanced Technology CoEkttitab Holding Co Sak

Real Estate Trade Centers CoAcico Industries Co Kscc

Kipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum Services

Alimtiaz Investment GroupRas Al Khaimah White Cement

Kuwait Reinsurance Co KscKuwait & Gulf Link Transport

Humansoft Holding Co KscAutomated Systems Co Kscc

Metal & Recycling CoGulf Franchising Holding Co

Al-Enma’a Real Estate CoNational Mobile Telecommuni

Sanad Holding Co KsccUnicap Investment And Financ

Al Salam Group Holding CoAl Aman Investment Company

Mashaer Holding Co KscManazel Holding

Tijara And Real Estate InvesJazeera Airways Co Ksc

Commercial Real Estate CoNational International Co

Taameer Real Estate Invest CGulf Cement Co

Heavy Engineering And Ship BNational Real Estate Co

Al Safat Energy Holding CompKuwait National Cinema CoDanah Alsafat Foodstuff Co

Independent Petroleum GroupKuwait Real Estate Co Ksc

Salhia Real Estate Co KscGulf Cable & Electrical Ind

Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co

Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc

Gulf Insurance Group KscUmm Al Qaiwain General Inves

Aayan Leasing & InvestmentAlrai Media Group Co KscNational Investments CoCommercial Facilities CoYiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C

Dulaqan Real Estate CoReal Estate Asset Management

50.40

341.00

900.00

16.70

24.80

144.00

92.00

1,100.00

127.00

59.00

158.00

78.00

3,133.00

71.00

60.00

160.00

45.80

721.00

0.00

45.70

32.10

57.10

68.40

30.00

42.00

969.00

93.00

66.80

17.90

57.00

399.00

82.00

19.50

790.00

25.00

483.00

82.20

336.00

431.00

707.00

58.50

100.00

71.00

680.00

71.90

52.40

41.50

129.00

199.00

66.50

350.00

95.40

-10.00

0.29

0.00

7.74

7.83

0.00

-2.13

0.00

2.42

-6.35

0.00

0.13

-0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.35

1.41

0.00

-0.65

-1.23

1.96

-0.15

1.69

0.00

-0.10

0.22

0.00

0.00

3.64

-0.25

-0.24

4.84

0.00

-1.57

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.23

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.49

0.00

-6.93

-1.66

0.00

2.05

0.00

0.00

0.00

194,876

1,393,312

-

118,432

100

-

501

-

1,508,941

9,660

-

90,859

28,647

-

-

-

670,531

75,859

-

1,710

2,009,830

242,187

970,923

71,783

-

169,683

13,176

-

-

134,350

80,399

215,237

4,691

-

3,592,286

-

177,676

-

153,501

9,285,636

-

-

20,000

2,048,000

-

13,730,209

53,610

248,608

286,000

-

-

-

OMAN

Company Name % Chg Volume

Voltamp Energy SaogVision Insurance Saoc

United Power/Energy Co- PrefUnited Power Co Saog

United Finance CoUbar Hotels & Resorts

Takaful OmanTaageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co

Sohar International BankSmn Power Holding Saog

Shell Oman Marketing - PrefShell Oman Marketing

Sharqiyah Desalination Co SaSembcorp Salalah Power & Wat

Salalah Port ServicesSalalah Mills Co

Salalah Beach Resort SaogSahara Hospitality

Renaissance Services SaogRaysut Cement Co

Phoenix Power Co SaocPackaging Co Ltd

OoredooOminvest

Oman United Insurance CoOman Telecommunications Co

Oman Refreshment CoOman Qatar Insurance Co

0.18

0.12

1.00

2.50

0.07

0.13

0.12

0.10

0.55

0.10

0.11

0.08

1.05

1.08

0.29

0.12

0.60

0.50

1.38

3.09

0.27

0.34

0.09

2.21

0.52

0.35

0.22

0.59

1.30

0.09

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

9.23

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.89

0.00

0.00

1.89

0.00

2.52

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.49

-2.86

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.84

-0.68

0.00

0.00

-

5,000

-

-

168,100

-

-

-

-

-

1,205,388

14,107

-

10,290

-

23,400

-

-

-

-

384,257

195,959

274,610

-

201,000

-

45,600

86,300

4,000

-

Sultan Center Food ProductsKuwait Foundry Co Sak

Kuwait Financial Centre SakAjial Real Estate Entmt

Kuwait Finance & InvestmentNational Industries Co Ksc

Kuwait Real Estate Holding CSecurities House/The

Boubyan Petrochemicals CoAl Ahli Bank Of Kuwait

Ahli United Bank (Almutahed)National Bank Of Kuwait

Commercial Bank Of KuwaitKuwait International Bank

Gulf BankAl-Massaleh Real Estate Co

Al Arabiya Real Estate CoKuwait Remal Real Estate Co

Alkout Industrial Projects CA’ayan Real Estate Co Sak

Investors Holding Group Co.KAl-Mazaya Holding Co

0.67

4.50

-2.49

0.00

-2.11

-4.00

0.00

0.00

-0.91

1.65

1.85

-0.11

0.00

1.11

-1.04

0.00

0.00

-2.64

0.00

0.94

0.00

-0.18

200,983

5,775

1,015,500

-

3,333,679

13,634

-

552,387

147,031

113,540

269,386

5,163,944

33,300

2,223,996

3,723,205

-

25,900

445,610

-

124,372

2,974,501

1,208,700

45.30

418.00

98.00

136.00

46.40

168.00

27.70

44.50

761.00

308.00

331.00

936.00

500.00

273.00

285.00

37.90

26.00

25.80

840.00

64.10

9.40

54.00

Lt Price

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Friay, September 13, 20194

World-beating currency a major challenge for Thai economyBloombergBangkok

Thailand’s eff ort to revive economic growth with more than $10bn of stimulus faces an obstacle from its surging cur-rency.

The baht has strengthened more than 6% against the dollar in 2019, the most among major Asian currencies, and its appre-ciation leads the world over the past fi ve years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The climb has hurt tourism and exports, contributing to the weakest economic expansion since 2014 as the US-China trade spat also hits home.

The baht is seen as a safe haven and offi cials will be wary of intervening too much in foreign-exchange markets as the US closely monitors countries’ currency policies, according to Aus-tralia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

“Tourism is one of the keys for reviving Thai economic growth, because the industry can turn around quickly,” said Komsorn Prakobphol, a senior investment strategist at Tisco Financial Group Pcl in Bangkok. “But it faces tough challenges as long as the baht strengthens faster than regional peers.”

Bank of Thailand governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said on Tues-day the baht’s appreciation is a big concern for Thai exporters.

He’s signalled the central bank may cut its 3.3% economic growth estimate for 2019.

An annual current-account surplus estimated at around $29bn and near-record foreign exchange reserves of $220bn un-derpin the baht.

An interest-rate cut and steps to curb some infl ows have failed to put a major dent in the currency.

Economic growth slowed to 2.3% last quarter, partly on slug-gish tourism.

Offi cials hope for a revival after they waived visa fees for some nationalities, and as travellers seek alternatives to Hong Kong amid unrest there.

Market Impact Exporters of electronics components are among fi rms most exposed to baht swings.

The SET Electronic Components Index slid 23% this year as the currency surged.

Foreign Expansion The baht has been resilient despite an in-crease in foreign-direct investment by Thai fi rms.

As a share of the economy, outbound FDI exceeds its inbound counterpart.

Hurdles mount for Hong KongExchange’s $36.6bn LSE bidBloombergLondon

The plan by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd to take over London Stock Exchange Group Plc is run-

ning into multiple obstacles a day after the surprise bid was launched, with the UK bourse leaning towards rejecting the off er in its current form.

LSE and its advisers have wide-ranging concerns, including the possible infl u-ence of China on the HKEX, and the deal could face pushback from UK and US of-fi cials over security concerns, according to people familiar with the matter. LSE is also wary of a bid that is structured mainly in stock and has exposure to the volatile situ-ation in Hong Kong, the people said.

The Asian bid also faces scepticism from LSE’s British-based shareholders. Jupiter Asset Management and Aberdeen Standard Investments indicated they pre-fer the British bourse’s planned takeover of Refi nitiv – a strategic move to expand in data that HKEX wants to scrap. HKEX shares fell as much as 3.8%, while LSE is trading at about 14% below the off er price.

“Scepticism abounds around the likeli-hood of the UK regulator approving this deal,” said Guy de Blonay, a fund manager at Jupiter, which holds about 0.7% of LSE’s equity. There’s “also an uncertain appetite to receive HKEX paper. At this stage, there is arguably greater long-term value in the Refi nitiv deal than in the HKEX proposal.”

Representatives for LSE and HKEX de-clined to comment.

Shares whipsawedLSE stock initially jumped as much as

16% after HKEX said it wanted to combine the exchanges in a cash-and-stock deal that valued the London fi rm at £29.6bn ($36.6bn). However, the stock pared gains amid doubts over how shareholders and regulators will react.

While the takeover represents a vote of

confi dence in London as a post-Brexit fi -nancial hub, the British government has the power to scrap the deal on public-in-terest grounds.

“The London Stock Exchange is a critical-ly important part of the UK fi nancial system, so as you would expect, the government and the regulators will be looking at the details closely,” said a spokesperson for the UK gov-ernment on Wednesday. “We cannot com-ment further on commercial matters.”

With global political tensions rising including protests in Hong Kong and US

President Donald Trump’s trade war with China – commercial arguments may not be the most compelling, especially given the LSE’s prominence as the world’s big-gest venue for handling interest-rate swaps. US regulators last year rejected a bid by a Chinese-linked consortium to take over the Chicago Stock Exchange, a deal that then-candidate Trump blasted when it was announced in 2016.

LSE senior managers were blindsided by the off er, said another person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be named

discussing matters that aren’t public on Wednesday. Internally, recent meetings have concentrated on the signifi cant ben-efi ts of the Refi nitiv deal, the person said.

Rhona Millar, an investment analyst at Aberdeen Standard Investments, which is a top 15 LSE shareholder, echoed de Blo-nay’s misgivings. “Shareholders who pre-viously welcomed the proposed acquisi-tion of Refi nitiv will be seeking assurances that the strategic rationale will not be un-dermined by a successful bid for LSE,” she said.

This general view shows the flag (centre) of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange flying next to the Chinese national flag (2nd left) and the Hong Kong SAR flag, outside the exchange off ices in the Central district of Hong Kong. The plan by HKEX to take over London Stock Exchange is running into multiple obstacles a day after the surprise bid was launched, with the UK bourse leaning towards rejecting the off er in its current form.

Apple IncAmerican Express Co

Boeing Co/TheCaterpillar Inc

Cisco Systems IncChevron Corp

Walt Disney Co/TheDow Inc

Goldman Sachs Group IncHome Depot Inc

Intl Business Machines CorpIntel Corp

Johnson & JohnsonJpmorgan Chase & Co

Coca-Cola Co/TheMcdonald’s Corp

3M CoMerck & Co. Inc.

Microsoft CorpNike Inc -Cl B

Pfizer IncProcter & Gamble Co/The

Travelers Cos Inc/TheUnitedhealth Group Inc

United Technologies CorpVisa Inc-Class A Shares

Verizon Communications IncWalgreens Boots Alliance Inc

Walmart IncExxon Mobil Corp

225.39

119.80

375.45

131.14

49.79

121.84

137.93

46.57

219.19

234.02

143.11

52.91

130.75

117.65

55.17

213.40

170.64

83.63

137.26

87.33

37.37

122.85

148.69

233.49

137.29

178.48

60.33

56.14

116.56

71.77

0.81

1.53

-1.96

-1.47

-0.48

0.46

1.28

-0.66

1.10

0.58

-0.34

0.23

-0.32

0.39

0.73

1.52

1.52

0.86

0.84

0.67

-0.12

1.30

1.68

-0.31

0.99

2.00

0.33

-3.31

0.47

-0.22

4,430,709

235,672

360,732

434,781

1,803,170

517,689

700,486

760,000

225,927

271,431

169,209

3,200,052

555,836

942,432

1,037,381

291,343

282,969

703,662

3,723,837

391,607

1,323,571

585,130

109,898

282,898

196,361

738,299

746,247

1,145,754

370,314

1,070,265

DJIA


Anglo American PlcAssociated British Foods Plc

Admiral Group PlcAshtead Group Plc

Antofagasta PlcAuto Trader Group Plc

Aviva PlcAstrazeneca PlcBae Systems Plc

Barclays PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc

Barratt Developments PlcBhp Group Plc

Berkeley Group Holdings/TheBritish Land Co Plc

Bunzl PlcBp Plc

Burberry Group PlcBt Group Plc

Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-DiCarnival PlcCentrica Plc

Compass Group PlcCroda International Plc

Crh PlcDcc Plc

Diageo PlcDirect Line Insurance Group

Evraz PlcExperian Plc

Easyjet PlcFerguson Plc

Fresnillo PlcGlencore Plc

Glaxosmithkline PlcGvc Holdings Plc

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc

Halma PlcHsbc Holdings Plc

Hiscox LtdIntl Consolidated Airline-Di

Intercontinental Hotels Grou3I Group Plc

Imperial Brands PlcInforma Plc

Intertek Group PlcItv Plc

Johnson Matthey PlcKingfisher Plc

Land Securities Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLloyds Banking Group Plc

London Stock Exchange GroupMicro Focus International

Marks & Spencer Group PlcMondi Plc

Melrose Industries PlcWm Morrison Supermarkets

National Grid PlcNmc Health Plc

Next PlcOcado Group Plc

Paddy Power Betfair PlcPrudential Plc

Persimmon PlcPearson Plc

Reckitt Benckiser Group PlcRoyal Bank Of Scotland Group

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

Relx PlcRio Tinto Plc

Rightmove PlcRolls-Royce Holdings PlcRsa Insurance Group Plc

Rentokil Initial PlcSainsbury (J) Plc

Schroders PlcSage Group Plc/The

Segro PlcSmurfit Kappa Group Plc

Standard Life Aberdeen PlcDs Smith Plc

Smiths Group PlcScottish Mortgage Inv Tr Plc

Smith & Nephew PlcSpirax-Sarco Engineering Plc

Sse PlcStandard Chartered Plc

St James’s Place PlcSevern Trent Plc

Tesco PlcTui Ag-Di

Taylor Wimpey PlcUnilever Plc

United Utilities Group PlcVodafone Group Plc

John Wood Group PlcWpp Plc

Whitbread Plc

1,932.80

2,300.00

2,113.00

2,344.00

903.00

519.60

390.60

6,904.00

571.40

148.70

3,073.00

624.00

1,803.80

4,078.00

542.80

2,097.00

504.00

2,170.00

170.82

2,708.00

3,747.00

74.78

2,010.00

4,948.00

2,820.00

7,068.00

3,381.50

297.10

530.00

2,525.00

1,007.00

6,216.00

749.40

252.55

1,662.00

713.20

1,941.50

2,025.00

2,011.00

626.20

1,616.00

456.20

5,037.00

1,100.50

2,201.50

836.40

5,440.00

120.15

3,169.00

201.90

806.40

247.20

51.94

7,252.00

1,122.00

198.05

1,658.50

205.00

203.10

831.90

2,816.00

5,998.00

1,338.50

0.00

1,497.00

2,029.00

863.80

6,417.00

197.90

2,290.00

2,283.00

1,894.50

4,332.00

533.90

829.20

534.00

442.90

215.40

3,080.00

670.60

779.60

2,638.00

268.40

360.20

1,685.00

527.50

1,905.00

8,180.00

1,166.00

681.80

997.80

2,041.00

235.90

865.60

157.05

5,003.00

784.60

160.98

411.40

1,024.00

4,429.00

2.64

2.72

0.67

0.86

1.10

0.93

-0.53

-0.19

-0.56

0.00

0.99

-0.06

1.51

1.37

-1.95

-3.01

-1.58

-0.73

-1.26

-0.37

-1.45

2.64

0.00

0.77

1.95

0.48

0.57

0.07

1.26

1.77

-2.56

-0.92

2.77

0.24

0.73

0.25

-0.67

0.00

0.50

0.11

1.32

1.00

-2.52

-2.26

-0.52

1.19

0.78

-4.34

-1.40

-1.08

-2.06

-0.12

-1.25

0.64

0.34

-2.44

0.52

-1.44

4.69

0.70

-3.50

-1.32

-2.23

0.00

0.34

-0.05

-0.35

0.30

-0.95

-0.67

-0.67

1.23

1.01

1.17

-0.34

-0.34

1.28

1.13

1.15

0.24

0.23

-0.45

0.00

-0.06

0.09

0.67

0.34

0.99

0.52

-0.09

0.65

0.84

0.68

-0.82

-0.35

0.82

0.64

1.25

-4.17

-1.21

-2.53

4,341,850

1,183,734

598,256

1,443,808

2,436,534

1,978,227

9,051,071

2,121,136

4,867,715

38,842,991

3,397,928

2,434,491

4,998,015

674,115

3,104,215

885,459

29,788,799

937,567

21,392,958

409,073

638,441

30,385,482

2,830,847

326,581

1,224,646

157,414

2,890,585

4,513,360

4,133,570

1,572,087

1,620,209

460,795

2,288,487

38,299,220

5,269,558

2,724,664

560,524

607,179

749,101

19,243,570

570,179

6,577,402

441,997

1,781,839

1,938,265

2,133,950

307,145

16,193,968

538,294

6,504,075

2,692,076

17,027,011

128,121,394

937,867

1,852,898

8,529,711

1,356,486

12,581,232

12,683,535

7,278,415

1,071,265

346,960

1,878,016

-

4,059,644

1,658,311

2,043,582

578,138

14,769,439

6,308,622

4,220,590

3,287,307

2,549,218

1,688,600

5,091,352

1,650,706

2,583,582

8,102,755

280,643

2,053,263

1,708,883

509,964

4,770,754

4,536,432

562,855

1,542,007

1,662,254

154,664

2,999,685

6,155,961

1,338,557

607,550

14,947,746

1,433,888

6,423,596

2,199,383

1,586,705

67,593,495

3,307,474

3,317,732

334,395

FTSE 100


Japan Airlines Co LtdRecruit Holdings Co Ltd

Softbank CorpKyocera Corp

Nissan Motor Co LtdT&D Holdings Inc

Toyota Motor CorpKddi Corp

Nitto Denko CorpHitachi Ltd

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdJfe Holdings IncSumitomo Corp

Canon IncEisai Co Ltd

Nintendo Co LtdShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd

Mitsubishi CorpSmc Corp

3,446.00

3,237.00

1,508.00

6,739.00

711.10

1,183.00

7,339.00

2,876.00

5,489.00

4,161.00

3,719.00

1,375.50

1,749.00

2,935.00

5,466.00

41,580.00

11,615.00

2,800.50

46,660.00

1.29

1.95

0.10

-0.49

-1.02

-0.25

-0.22

1.30

1.46

1.49

-0.72

-0.58

-0.37

0.96

-0.74

1.17

2.02

-0.18

1.99

2,148,700

14,418,200

9,556,000

1,473,200

16,889,400

3,724,800

7,148,300

7,348,700

1,092,500

3,877,100

5,398,800

3,298,600

5,762,300

3,767,000

1,027,000

1,130,000

1,449,500

6,947,400

431,800

TOKYO


Nidec CorpIsuzu Motors Ltd

Unicharm CorpNomura Holdings Inc

Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdSubaru Corp

Sumitomo Realty & DevelopmenNtt Docomo Inc

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co LtdOrix Corp

Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp

Mizuho Financial Group IncSumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin

Japan Tobacco IncSumitomo Electric Industries

Daiwa Securities Group IncSoftbank Group Corp

Panasonic CorpFujitsu Ltd

Central Japan Railway CoNitori Holdings Co Ltd

Ajinomoto Co IncDaikin Industries Ltd

Mitsui Fudosan Co LtdOno Pharmaceutical Co Ltd

Toray Industries IncBridgestone Corp

Sony CorpAstellas Pharma Inc

Hoya CorpNippon Steel Corp

Suzuki Motor CorpNippon Telegraph & Telephone

Jxtg Holdings IncMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd

Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp

Sompo Holdings IncDaiwa House Industry Co Ltd

Dai-Ichi Life Holdings IncMazda Motor Corp

Komatsu LtdWest Japan Railway Co

Kao CorpMitsui & Co Ltd

Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd

Oriental Land Co LtdSekisui House Ltd

Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc

Aeon Co LtdAsahi Kasei Corp

Kirin Holdings Co LtdMarubeni Corp

Mitsubishi Ufj Financial GroMitsubishi Chemical Holdings

Fanuc CorpFast Retailing Co Ltd

Ms&Ad Insurance Group HoldinKubota Corp

Seven & I Holdings Co LtdInpex Corp

Resona Holdings IncFujifilm Holdings Corp

Yamato Holdings Co LtdChubu Electric Power Co Inc

Mitsubishi Estate Co LtdMitsubishi Heavy Industries

Sysmex CorpShiseido Co Ltd

Shionogi & Co LtdTerumo Corp

Tokyo Gas Co LtdTokyo Electron Ltd

East Japan Railway CoItochu Corp

Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr

14,800.00

1,258.50

3,363.00

477.80

6,925.00

3,097.00

3,936.00

2,788.00

3,480.00

1,710.50

5,197.00

66,490.00

167.90

3,912.00

2,333.00

1,401.50

509.90

4,687.00

902.30

8,323.00

21,465.00

15,355.00

1,930.00

14,220.00

2,471.00

2,023.50

801.00

4,290.00

6,515.00

1,537.00

8,790.00

1,569.00

4,351.00

5,265.00

487.20

5,030.00

1,345.00

4,862.00

4,731.00

3,458.00

1,645.50

1,007.50

2,490.00

9,332.00

7,863.00

1,829.50

14,065.00

4,580.00

15,440.00

2,019.50

9,383.00

5,862.00

1,974.50

1,094.00

2,218.00

747.50

568.30

814.90

20,275.00

64,210.00

3,577.00

1,645.50

4,076.00

999.00

474.80

4,767.00

1,907.00

1,563.00

2,030.50

4,376.00

7,120.00

8,421.00

5,802.00

3,157.00

2,686.00

20,950.00

10,220.00

2,228.00

3,768.00

1,459.00

3,769.00

1.93

1.74

0.54

-0.58

3.70

0.49

1.23

0.25

1.31

0.74

0.31

1.88

0.30

0.46

-0.15

1.08

-0.33

0.21

0.08

-0.25

2.12

-0.39

0.29

3.95

0.00

1.66

1.65

1.35

0.99

-0.97

-1.68

0.54

0.48

1.17

0.10

1.06

1.62

0.83

2.05

1.62

-0.27

0.00

1.38

1.83

1.20

-0.05

0.43

1.01

-0.32

-0.25

1.24

1.19

-1.23

3.01

2.38

0.95

-0.30

-0.05

2.19

-0.88

0.82

0.21

0.87

1.52

-0.23

0.32

-2.10

1.76

1.50

-0.21

3.44

0.68

-1.79

0.32

2.62

2.70

1.04

-0.82

2.92

2.39

-0.08

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

Ck Hutchison Holdings LtdHang Lung Properties Ltd

Ck Infrastructure Holdings LHengan Intl Group Co Ltd

China Shenhua Energy Co-HCspc Pharmaceutical Group Lt

Hang Seng Bank LtdChina Resources Land Ltd

Ck Asset Holdings LtdSino Biopharmaceutical

Henderson Land DevelopmentAia Group Ltd

Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HWant Want China Holdings Ltd

Sun Hung Kai PropertiesNew World Development

Geely Automobile Holdings LtSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl A

Sands China LtdWharf Real Estate Investment

Clp Holdings LtdCountry Garden Holdings Co

Aac Technologies Holdings InShenzhou International GroupPing An Insurance Group Co-H

China Mengniu Dairy CoSunny Optical Tech

Boc Hong Kong Holdings LtdChina Life Insurance Co-H

Citic LtdGalaxy Entertainment Group L

Wh Group Ltd

72.60

18.46

53.40

54.45

16.56

15.42

177.40

32.75

57.00

10.84

38.20

79.20

5.38

6.42

116.90

10.44

13.48

78.45

38.40

45.10

80.90

10.26

40.65

109.20

94.65

30.65

116.40

28.40

19.70

10.18

53.30

7.22

-0.75

0.00

-0.65

0.37

-2.59

1.18

-0.89

0.77

-0.18

0.74

-1.55

-1.43

0.19

-0.77

-0.76

-0.19

0.00

0.58

0.00

-1.74

0.19

-1.91

2.65

0.92

1.45

2.17

1.04

0.35

1.55

1.19

-0.74

3.88

6,822,664

5,040,710

1,388,235

1,396,079

15,141,137

22,531,982

2,026,351

6,717,986

5,063,589

31,631,905

6,240,513

20,957,133

149,270,638

10,316,000

5,378,531

17,171,980

28,994,355

2,270,703

5,204,841

4,346,703

2,262,818

21,549,408

14,709,615

962,300

29,173,121

9,865,174

4,272,619

13,894,189

35,635,944

11,245,189

5,511,071

52,501,226

HONG KONG


Hong Kong & China GasBank Of Communications Co-HChina Petroleum & Chemical-HHong Kong Exchanges & Clear

Bank Of China Ltd-HHsbc Holdings Plc

Power Assets Holdings LtdMtr Corp

China Overseas Land & InvestTencent Holdings Ltd

China Unicom Hong Kong LtdLink Reit

Sino Land CoChina Resources Power Holdin

Petrochina Co Ltd-HCnooc Ltd

China Construction Bank-HChina Mobile Ltd

15.62

5.40

4.89

237.40

3.16

60.25

53.15

47.00

25.80

349.40

8.47

89.10

12.20

10.80

4.19

11.90

6.17

67.35

0.39

-0.37

-0.41

-3.50

-0.32

-0.82

0.38

-1.26

-1.15

0.98

0.12

-1.00

0.99

-0.92

-1.41

-3.09

-0.48

0.07

11,630,310

10,636,141

101,253,678

19,915,954

121,932,726

16,448,642

1,829,689

4,615,508

8,672,679

15,302,176

33,174,374

4,284,624

12,869,129

2,809,790

110,256,651

54,540,378

242,595,725

14,776,296

HONG KONG


Adani Ports And Special EconAsian Paints Ltd

Axis Bank LtdBajaj Finance Ltd

Bharti Airtel LtdBharti Infratel Ltd

Bajaj Auto LtdBajaj Finserv Ltd

Bharat Petroleum Corp LtdCipla Ltd

Coal India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Eicher Motors LtdGail India Ltd

Grasim Industries LtdHcl Technologies Ltd

Housing Development FinanceHdfc Bank Limited

Hero Motocorp LtdHindalco Industries Ltd

Hindustan Petroleum CorpHindustan Unilever Ltd

Icici Bank LtdIndiabulls Housing Finance L

Indusind Bank LtdInfosys Ltd

Indian Oil Corp LtdItc Ltd

Jsw Steel LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Larsen & Toubro LtdMahindra & Mahindra Ltd

Maruti Suzuki India LtdNtpc Ltd

Oil & Natural Gas Corp LtdPower Grid Corp Of India Ltd

Reliance Industries LtdState Bank Of India

Sun Pharmaceutical IndusTata Steel Ltd

Tata Consultancy Svcs LtdTech Mahindra Ltd

Titan Co LtdTata Motors Ltd

Upl LtdUltratech Cement Ltd

Vedanta LtdWipro Ltd

Yes Bank LtdZee Entertainment Enterprise

372.45

1,540.30

662.90

3,382.35

347.55

250.75

2,852.20

7,291.95

384.20

467.80

197.70

2,767.05

16,680.55

125.75

717.55

1,054.90

2,082.75

2,270.85

2,740.75

197.10

262.65

1,805.40

402.70

449.40

1,390.25

816.40

124.40

240.75

222.05

1,457.55

1,362.40

543.60

6,392.05

122.25

125.90

199.65

1,210.35

287.05

427.80

365.05

2,133.60

705.55

1,086.10

127.95

567.30

4,002.05

145.45

244.55

67.95

346.40

-0.24

-1.35

-2.76

-1.00

-2.13

-0.97

-1.93

-0.85

-0.49

-0.85

0.51

0.22

-1.96

-2.10

0.85

-0.26

0.53

0.87

-0.70

1.89

-1.26

-1.04

2.05

4.16

1.32

-0.45

-1.31

-1.23

-2.48

-1.20

-0.09

-0.39

-3.11

-1.81

0.12

-0.87

-1.95

0.63

1.33

-0.54

-0.95

0.26

-1.36

-4.76

-1.80

2.53

-0.58

-1.45

-5.10

-2.27

SENSEX

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

WORLD INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

GCC INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

Dow Jones Indus. AvgS&P 500 Index

Nasdaq Composite IndexS&P/Tsx Composite Index

Mexico Bolsa IndexBrazil Bovespa Stock Idx

Ftse 100 IndexCac 40 Index

Dax IndexIbex 35 Tr

Nikkei 225Japan Topix

Hang Seng IndexAll Ordinaries Indx

Nzx All IndexBse Sensex 30 Index

Nse S&P Cnx Nifty IndexStraits Times Index

Karachi All Share IndexJakarta Composite Index

27,236.52

3,013.20

8,209.99

16,660.68

42,692.62

104,169.30

7,344.67

5,642.86

12,410.25

9,082.30

21,759.61

1,595.10

27,087.63

6,765.66

1,836.89

37,104.28

10,982.80

3,194.96

23,050.83

6,342.17

+99.48

+12.27

+40.31

+49.54

-56.55

+723.70

+6.64

+24.80

+51.18

+22.80

+161.85

+11.44

-71.43

+13.50

-5.67

-166.54

-52.90

-9.56

+321.23

-39.78

Doha Securities Market

Kuwait Stocks Exchange

Oman Stock Market

10,461.65

4,761.99

4,020.16

-4.84

+13.68

+2.91

“Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended as an off er or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on this data.”

1,044,200

3,270,400

945,400

25,073,300

3,149,500

4,349,400

1,665,800

4,530,800

2,315,400

6,984,000

1,479,300

420,800

138,294,100

1,741,800

6,948,700

2,718,100

7,143,400

14,899,800

9,233,000

1,018,600

546,500

415,100

1,690,900

1,321,100

5,027,400

1,758,700

6,725,900

2,198,200

6,268,300

6,345,200

1,453,700

4,155,500

2,023,700

4,090,100

17,958,900

5,562,300

2,600,500

1,797,600

1,508,900

2,007,000

6,057,700

5,035,500

6,270,700

847,600

1,534,000

6,947,200

288,000

1,381,200

914,400

3,191,600

731,300

2,516,600

2,822,100

7,010,700

4,275,300

9,190,600

80,996,600

8,428,800

1,330,200

694,200

1,891,800

3,209,400

3,126,600

9,003,600

13,588,000

2,138,500

2,248,800

3,422,100

4,814,300

1,504,800

575,700

1,992,700

1,639,300

2,577,800

1,464,000

2,009,300

1,173,500

4,840,000

2,240,600

7,833,600

6,715,700

2,625,251

753,116

8,087,081

1,164,086

5,535,262

3,142,907

314,580

250,803

5,638,666

1,179,858

6,446,408

469,462

191,955

6,009,170

1,805,426

2,032,367

3,303,127

4,533,075

701,793

8,635,479

5,869,421

862,635

19,577,114

20,703,399

3,847,286

4,400,017

11,296,341

8,083,759

9,281,462

2,424,954

2,249,695

3,726,538

1,892,862

8,444,053

8,659,474

6,477,884

5,431,139

21,964,832

9,896,642

18,846,820

2,118,859

3,282,740

1,792,647

72,084,195

2,118,984

844,400

6,713,704

4,664,757

221,839,869

4,778,366

Volume

Volume

BUSINESS5Gulf Times


Europe markets rise after ECB’s massive stimulusAFPLondon

European stock markets rose yes-terday after the ECB unveiled a massive stimulus programme

and cut interest rates to goose a slug-gish eurozone economy.

The euro was volatile, dropping against the dollar in an initial reaction before recovering in late business.

The ECB took a key interest rate fur-ther into negative territory in its fi rst rate cut since 2016 and announced it would resume stimulus via asset pur-chases at the rate of €20bn per month and cheap loans to banks.

While the quantitative easing (QE) stimulus amount may have been lower than some analysts expected, the tone of the ECB was more dovish.

“This commitment to more QE is open-ended: it will end shortly before the Bank begins raising interest rates,” said Andrew Kenningham, chief Euro-pean economist at Capital Economics.

Meanwhile, the ECB said it wouldn’t raise interest rates until it saw infl ation

moving up towards its goal of just un-der 2% over the medium term.

Key eurozone stock markets were higher at the close thanks to the pros-pect of cheaper money.

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,344.67 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 0.4% to 12,410.25 and Paris’s CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 5,642.86 points at close yesterday.

But the euro, in the moments fol-lowing the ECB’s announcement, fell more than a cent against the dollar, dropping below $1.10.

Then it recovered.“The euro didn’t quite know what

to make of the ECB’s newly announced stimulus package, a mixed bag parting gift from Italian stallion Mario Draghi,” said Connor Campbell at Spreadex.

Initially “the euro was shaken by the confi rmation of the central bank’s long-suspected plans”, but then be-came “less concerned”, he said.

“That’s because the plans have been described as ‘less generous’ than fi rst thought, with a certain amount of dis-appointment that the package wasn’t more robust,” he said.

Equity markets also found some support amid signs of easing trade-war tensions between China and the United States.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would delay hik-ing tariff s on some Chinese goods, just hours after Beijing announced it would remove a range of American products from its own planned levies.

China added yesterday it was “mak-ing enquiries” about buying American farm products including big-ticket products like pork and soybeans.

The more conciliatory tone – after months of rancour – fuelled hopes that they could edge towards solving their long-running trade war, which has jolted the global economy and stock markets.

Wall Street shares were modestly higher in morning New York business.

Elsewhere yesterday, oil prices ex-tended recent losses as traders bet on a possible return of Iranian crude to the market after the fi ring this week of Trump’s hawkish national security ad-viser John Bolton eased fears of a con-fl agration in the Middle East.

Traders are seen at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX 30 gained 0.4% to 12,410.25 points yesterday after the European Central Bank unveiled a massive stimulus programme and cut interest rates to goose a sluggish eurozone economy.

BUSINESS7Gulf Times


AFPHong Kong

Signs of easing tensions between China and the US in their trade row fuelled hopes of a break-

through in high-level talks next month but Asian markets were mixed as deal-ers struggled to extend this week’s healthy rally.

Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would delay hiking tariff s on Chi-nese goods, just hours after Beijing an-nounced it would remove a range of US products from its own planned levies.

The moves provided an extra shot in the arm for investors as they await key announcements from the US and Euro-pean central banks that are expected to see a further easing of monetary policy.

In a tweet Wednesday night, Trump said: “We have agreed, as a gesture of good will, to move the increased Tar-iff s on $250bn worth of goods (25% to 30%), from October 1 to October 15.”

He added that the delay was request-ed by “Vice Premier of China, Liu He, and due to the fact that the People’s Re-public of China will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary”, on October 1.

Earlier in the day, China said it would temporarily exempt 16 categories of US exports from tariff increases in an olive branch to Washington before the talks take place and which Trump described as “a big move”.

The more conciliatory tone from both sides – after months of rancour – fuelled hopes they can edge towards a solution to their long-running trade war, which has jolted the global econo-my and stock markets.

The delay “shows Trump doesn’t want to increase tariff s before the trade talks in early October and it creates good conditions”, said Tommy Xie, an econo-mist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.

“It adds to the hope that there’ll be good news from the October meeting, and markets will wait and see.”

Wednesday’s developments were broadly welcomed though Asian mar-kets struggled to hold on to initial ral-lies, with OANDA senior market analyst Jeff rey Halley adding a note of caution on the trade news.

“Just as the presidential tweet on tariff s... has injected more momentum into stocks and most likely emerging-market assets, what one hand gives the other can take away,” he said in a note.

“We are only one social media post-ing away from a thoroughly unpredict-able president turning sentiment on its head.” Tokyo ended 0.8% higher at 21,759.61 and Shanghai added 0.8% at 3,031.24 while Sydney climbed 0.3%.

Mumbai and Taipei also rose, but Hong Kong dipped 0.3% to 27,087.63, while there were also losses in Singa-

pore, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila.The apparent easing of trade tensions

boosted oil prices as the prospect of an end to the row revived hopes for de-mand.

However, the gains followed a sharp drop for both main contracts as traders bet on a possible return of Iranian crude to the market after the fi ring of Trump’s hawkish national security adviser John Bolton eased fears of a confl agration in the Middle East.

Traders are now turning their atten-tion to Frankfurt, where the European

Central Bank is expected to unveil an economy-boosting stimulus.

While the exact measures are un-known observers say it could cut in-terest rates deeper into negative terri-tory or a new mass bond-buying drive, among other things.

Then next week the Federal Reserve meets, with speculation rife that it will lower borrowing costs again, which would please Trump, who in a Twit-ter outburst on Wednesday said they should “BE BROUGHT WAY DOWN”.

There was also speculation the Bank

of Japan was considering opening up its armoury to support the economy.

In share trading, Hong Kong Ex-changes and Clearing sank 3.5% after its shock bid of almost US$40bn for the London Stock Exchange Group on Wednesday.

Reports said the proposal is likely to fail, however, as it is dependent on the LSEG scrapping a planned $27bn takeo-ver of US fi nancial data provider Ref-initiv, which the three-centuries-old exchange said it “remains committed” to buying.

Asian equities mixed after US and China tariff moves

Investors look at computer screens showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai. The bourse added 0.8% to 3,031.24 points yesterday.

Passive frenzy’s new milestone is fund tracking 500 hedge funds

BloombergNew York

The passive investing wave is coming

to hedge funds.

Aberdeen Standard Investments

and Hedge Fund Research Inc are

charting new territory by creating a

fund that tracks HFR’s broad index of

500 hedge funds.

The product will allow wealthy

investors and institutions to play in the

rarefied world of hedge funds without

having to kick their tyres or deal with

the egos.

“For the first time you can have

access to the space without having the

internal costs of selecting managers

or paying a premium for someone to

externally handle that manager-selec-

tion alpha for you,” said Russell Barlow,

global head of alternative strategies

at ASI, which oversees about $670bn.

“You can just buy the passive version.”

The development is a testament to

just how far-reaching index funds have

become, touching almost every asset

class. And it comes as stock pickers

were dealt a big blow Wednesday as

assets in US index-based equity mutual

funds and exchange-traded funds

topped those in active stock funds

for the first time in August . The new

ASI-HFR product will allow clients to

passively invest in hundreds of actual

flagship hedge funds, as opposed to

separately managed or liquid alterna-

tive versions of them, said HFR founder

Joe Nicholas. The fund is expected to

start trading in January, along with 30

strategy and sub-strategy index funds.

The hedge funds in the new, under-

lying index are being selected for their

liquidity quarterly or better – and size.

They are required to report their per-

formance and assets under manage-

ment monthly to HFR. Investors will be

able to subscribe or redeem from the

index fund quarterly.

Investors will need to put up a

minimum of $5mn to get into the fund.

They’ll also pay a fee for the product

as well as blended management and

performance fees for the underlying

hedge funds. Some of these charges

are being determined. The index’s

performance will be net of the hedge

fund managers’ fees.

The management fee is likely to be a

fraction of what fund-of-funds charge,

according to Barlow. That averages

1.17%, Prequin data show. The HFR’s

benchmark 500 index fund has an

average management fee of 1.4% and

the average incentive fee of 17%.

If successful, the index fund could

prove another challenge for the belea-

guered fund-of-hedge funds industry,

which has suff ered 11 straight years

of net withdrawals. Investors have

abandoned these middlemen due to

paltry performance and the extra layer

of fees they charge. Industry assets

totalled $643bn in June, down from

a peak of almost $800bn in 2007, ac-

cording to HFR.

The risk for ASI is that the new fund

could cannibalise its own fund-of-

hedge funds business, but Barlow

thinks it will instead tap into client

money sitting on the sidelines.

Investors such as state pensions

funds are under-allocated to the hedge

fund industry by $200bn in the US and

£24bn ($30bn) in the UK, versus their

target allocations, according to ASI’s

estimates. The index fund is expected

to capture some of those players who,

due to the constraints associated with

hedge fund investing, prefer to invest

passively.

“There’s an enormous component

of allocators to alternatives that are

underweight the investment class,”

Barlow said. “It boils down to a combi-

nation of a lack of liquidity, high fees,

transparency and performance.”

Active money managers have

been bleeding assets in recent years

as clients rebelled against high fees

and disappointing returns, a trend

that prompted Moody’s Investors

Service to predict that index funds will

overtake active management in the US

by 2021.

Michael Burry, the hero of Michael

Lewis’s book “The Big Short,” warned

last week that passive fund inflows

are inflating a new stock and bond

bubble that is bound to blow up as

money linked to fund indexes exceeds

amounts traded in individual stocks.

ASI said its liquidity requirements

will help it avoid a mismatch in flows

between the new fund and its underly-

ing managers. If an underlying fund

ends up shuttering or gating investors,

the index will mark the position to the

secondary market – in some cases,

zero – and remove the fund from the

index. Meanwhile, investors will have

the option to keep their exposure to

the off ending fund – even if they re-

deem from the index product – to not

miss out on any future recovery.

In February, ASI started a liquid

alternatives index fund that off ers

daily liquidity and tracks a separate

HFR index of about 180 UCITS funds.

The European Union’s UCITS directive

allows such funds to employ some

hedge-fund techniques, such as using

leverage or shorting. They’re also more

aff ordable to retail investors than a

typical hedge fund.

China’s yuan strongest in 3 weeks as Trump postpones tariffsReutersHong Kong

The yuan rose to its strongest level in three weeks

yesterday after US President Donald Trump post-

poned ramping up tariff s on Chinese goods “as a

gesture of goodwill” following Beijing’s decision

hours earlier to spare duties on some US exports.

The onshore yuan finished domestic trading up

0.38% at 7.0082 per dollar, marking its firmest close

since August 23.

It was also up 0.41% in the off shore market at

0831 GMT, trading at 7.0798, its firmest since August

22.

“These goodwill gestures exchanged...has in-

duced hope for a respite in US-China tensions even

as structural diff erences between US and China

persist,” Citi analysts wrote in a note.

The United States was due to hike tariff s on

$250bn worth of Chinese imports from October 1,

the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s

Republic of China. That deadline has now been

pushed back to October 15 to avoid clashing with

the National Day at the request of Liu He, China’s

vice premier and top negotiator in the talks with

Washington, Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Earlier, China announced its first batch of tariff

exemptions for 16 types of US products, including

some anti-cancer drugs and lubricants.

As the tariff delay helped strengthen the yuan,

clients seeking foreign currencies held off buying,

especially as Chinese markets are set to close on

Friday for Mid-Autumn Festival, said one trader with

a foreign bank in Shanghai.

Another Shanghai-based trader doubted whether

the delay to tariff s would support the yuan for long.

“The Sino-US trade war has not ended. (Tariff de-

lay) hasn’t had much impact on (turning around) the

market’s pessimistic sentiment,” said the trader.

In recent weeks the People’s Bank of China has

prevented the yuan’s decline from steepening by

anchoring the currency with its midpoint guidance

rate, from which the onshore yuan can trade 2% on

either side. The PBoC set the fixing at 7.0846 per

dollar yesterday, a touch stronger than Reuters’

estimate of 7.0929.

The protracted trade war has slowed Chinese

growth and policymakers have ratcheted up sup-

port for the economy.

Off icial data on Wednesday showed that China’s

banks extended new yuan loans in August.

The central bank slashed the amount of cash

banks must hold as reserves last week, releasing

900bn yuan ($126.35bn). Analysts expect it to go

further and cut one or more of its key policy interest

rates this month.

Lower interest rates often transmit into currency

weakness as investors take flight to higher-yielding

markets.

But since China’s is not the only central bank to

trim rates, the yuan will probably run unscathed,

said Stefan Hofer, chief investment strategist at LGT

Bank Asia. “It’s very natural for China to be part of

the crowd,” he said. “I don’t think it will impact the

currency.”

Eurozone bond markets calm ahead of ECB stormReutersLondon

Eurozone bond markets were braced yesterday for the European Central

Bank to announce fresh stimu-lus measures, but uncertainty reigned over the bank’s precise moves.

Government bond yields in the bloc, a touch lower in morn-ing trade, have risen from record lows reached just a week ago on growing doubts that the ECB will begin a fresh round of asset pur-chases, known as quantitative easing (QE).

A cut in the ECB’s minus 0.4% deposit rate – which would be the fi rst since 2016 – is antici-pated.

Policymakers are expected to debate a 10- or 20-basis-point reduction.

“Whether the ECB cuts rates by 10 or 20 bps is neither here or there,” said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets. “The big ques-tion is whether they restart QE, and if they don’t, we will see a further sell-off in bonds, espe-cially longer-dated ones.”

Daiwa expects the ECB to an-nounce asset purchases worth €30bn a month for nine months.

Expectations for stimulus to boost weak growth are high, so the risk is that the ECB disap-points markets and its action pushes up borrowing costs, rather than lowers them.

The Ifo institute yesterday cut its 2019 growth forecast for Ger-many and said a recession would hit Europe’s largest economy in the third quarter, the latest gloomy forecast raising pressure on the ECB to loosen policy.

Even after the recent sell-off , bond yields remain deeply nega-tive, which itself limits the im-pact of rate cuts.

Italy yesterday sold the top planned amount of €7.75bn ($9bn) at an auction, paying the lowest-ever seven-year yield.

“Given the depth of nega-tive rates in Europe, you wonder how moving them more negative would help,” said Mark Heppen-stall, CIO at Penn Mutual Asset Management.

Germany’s 10-year bond yield was a tad lower on the day at -0.57%. Even signs of a thaw in US-China trade tensions failed to shake the safe-haven bond market before the ECB meets.

Bund yields are 17 bps above early September’s record lows, but still down 80 bps this year.

Central bank chiefs from Ger-many, France, the Netherlands and Austria have all expressed scepticism about the need for fresh QE recently.

That has weighed on long-dated bonds in particular, and helped nudge 30-year German yields back towards positive ter-ritory.

“If you saw an absence of a QE announcement or signifi cant dilution, I would expect that to weigh on yields in the longer end,” said Richard McGuire, head of rates strategy at Ra-bobank.

A Hong Kong five-hundred dollars banknote (centre), is arranged for a photograph with Chinese one-hundred yuan banknotes in Hong Kong. The onshore yuan finished domestic trading up 0.38% at 7.0082 per US dollar, marking its firmest close since August 23.

India’s Sensex dropsBloombergMumbai

India benchmark equity index fell, snapping its longest run of gains since end August, as investors remained concerned over slowing consumer demand amid a wait for government stimulus.The S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.5% to 37,104.28 in Mumbai after rising as much as 0.4% earlier in the session, as easing US-China trade tensions helped drive stocks higher in most Asian markets.The NSE Nifty 50 Index also slipped 0.5%. US equity futures and Asian stocks climbed after President Donald Trump said he will delay the next tariff increase on China, which said it may allow companies to resume purchases of some American products.Locally, investors are expecting a stimulus package from the government ahead of the busy festival season to revive consumer demand.“Global liquidity continues unabated as central banks around the world look at means to ensure adequate liquidity”, said Sudip Bandyopadhyay, the Mumbai-based chairman at Inditrade Capital Ltd. “At home, the government is working on multiple packages for diff erent sectors, which is reassuring but we remain cautiously optimistic.”Fourteen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd declined, led by a gauge of auto companies.


BUSINESSGULF TIMES

Uber rejects labelling drivers as employees under California lawBloombergSan Francisco

Facing the most serious threat yet to its business model, Uber Technologies Inc is dusting off a legal argument it has employed with mixed results: That it’s a technology platform, not a transportation company.Now, as a new California law threatens to upend its source of cheap labour, Uber is pointing to the ways in which it has attempted to diversify — into food and freight delivery, for example — to put a polish on the argument that its drivers are still independent contractors peripheral to its higher mission.“Drivers’ work is outside the usual course of Uber’s business, which is serving as a technology platform for several diff erent types of digital

marketplaces,” Tony West, the company’s chief legal off icer, said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday.Uber has generated billions of dollars from the labour of its drivers without the expense of treating them as employees. California is poised to disrupt that business model, and the ride-hailing behemoth is gearing up for another legal fight.Under Assembly Bill 5, which has cleared both houses of the California Legislature, workers in the gig economy would be entitled to a minimum wage and workers compensation if their duties are in the usual course of a company’s business.The idea that drivers are not core to Uber’s business is one that elicits indignation from critics, but the company has long relied on a version of this argument in attempts to avoid

treating drivers as employees. It lost one such ruling in 2016, when a UK judge batted down the claim with a very cheeky retort: “The lady doth protest too much.”Proponents say the California bill, which has the support of Governor Gavin Newsom, will bring a groundbreaking shift to finally give workers their due. Uber and its allies say that if the bill becomes law, it may not meaningfully change the business model because there are still questions about which workers qualify.“AB 5 doesn’t all of a sudden – magic wand – change everybody’s status to employee,” said West. Instead, new criteria would be used to determine whether workers are employees or contractors, he said. “Now, whether or not we win under that test in California remains to be seen.”Sceptics say Uber may be too

optimistic. While it’s used arbitration, litigation and settlements to thwart drivers’ attempts so far to be classified as employees, AB 5 could pose a significant risk to the company, especially if similar measures are adopted in other parts of the US, legal experts, academics and financial analysts say.Uber is “whistling past the graveyard” if it underestimates how much AB 5 would favor drivers, said Jason Lohr, an employment lawyer in Uber’s hometown of San Francisco. Most of the state’s legal community expects the drivers would be considered employees, requiring Uber to provide worker-compensation insurance like any other employer, he said.“If Uber balks, it will be a bonanza for personal-injury attorneys because the company will be presumed negligent when a driver is injured - and on the

hook for attorney’s fees for failing to provide coverage,” Lohr said.Increased labour costs will likely mean higher fares for riders, which could undermine the growth strategies for Uber and its chief rival, Lyft Inc, said Tom White, an analyst at DA Davidson in New York.“Some of the data we’ve seen suggests that in order for ride-sharing to be a suitable replacement for car ownership, prices have to come down, not go up,” White said. “That part of the story gets eroded somewhat if Uber is forced to increase prices in a material way.”Uber shares are down about 25% from an initial public off ering in May, which valued the company at about $78bn. The stock already reflects concern over the California law, which may face obstacles, including a ballot measure funded by Uber and other companies, White said.

US core infl ation fi rming, but Fed still seen cutting ratesReutersWashington

US underlying consumer prices increased solidly in August, leading to the larg-est annual gain in a year, but rising in-

fl ation is unlikely to deter the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates again next week to support a slowing economy.

Other data yesterday showed the number of Americans fi ling applications for unemploy-ment benefi ts dropped to a fi ve-month low last week suggesting the labour market re-mains healthy, which should continue to un-derpin consumer spending even as hiring has cooled.

The longest economic expansion on record is under threat from the White House’s year-long trade war with China.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said last week he was not forecasting or expecting a recession, but reiterated the US central bank would con-tinue to act “as appropriate” to keep the expan-sion now in its 11th year on track.

But the fi rming infl ation trend, if sustained, could constrain the Fed’s ability to ease mon-etary policy further.

“Concerns about too-low infl ation appear misguided,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior econo-mist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “The Fed will still cut rates next week to provide added insurance in the event that the trade war escalates, but it might think twice about mov-ing again in October if core infl ation shows any further spark.”

The Labor Department said its consumer price index excluding the volatile food and energy components gained 0.3% for a third straight month.

The so-called core CPI was boosted by a surge in healthcare costs and increases in prices for airline tickets, recreation and used cars and trucks.

In the 12 months through August, the core CPI increased 2.4%, the most since July 2018, after climbing 2.2% in July.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the core CPI rising 0.2% in August and up 2.3% on a year-on-year basis.

But a decline in energy prices held back the increase in the overall CPI to 0.1% last month. The CPI gained 0.3% in July.

In the 12 months through August, the CPI increased 1.7%, slowing from July’s 1.8% ad-vance.

The Fed, which has a 2% infl ation target,

tracks the core personal consumption expen-ditures (PCE) price index for monetary policy.

The core PCE price index rose 1.6% on a year-on-year basis in July and has fallen short of the central bank’s target this year.

Economists expect infl ation will acceler-ate in the coming months and breach the Fed’s target in 2020 following the broadening this month of US

tariff s on Chinese goods to include a range of consumer goods.

Still, the Fed is likely to continue cutting in-

terest rates this year to off set the drag on the economy from the trade war. Financial markets have fully priced in a rate cut at the Fed’s Sep-tember 17-18 policy meeting.

Most economists expect additional mon-etary policy easing in October and December. The Fed cut rates in July for the fi rst time since 2008.

The trade stand-off has soured business confi dence and tipped both US and global manufacturing into recession.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said

yesterday President Donald Trump was pre-pared to keep or even raise tariff s on Chinese imports amid ongoing trade talks.

Mnuchin’s comments came despite Wash-ington and Beijing granting concessions ahead of the next round of negotiations.

The dollar fell against a basket of currencies after the European Central Bank launched new stimulus but failed to live up to some dovish fi -nancial market expectations.

US Treasury prices fell, while stocks on Wall Street were trading higher.

US recession indicators fl ash initial warning signsBloombergWashington

Investors are abuzz over the risk of a looming US recession, yet economic indicators are giving mixed signals at worst that the record-long expansion will end soon.Yes, manufacturing is slumping, uncertainty is mounting globally and businesses are paring spending as global demand slows and the US-China trade war rages. But unemployment near a five-decade low is buoying consumers, stock prices remain elevated and the Federal Reserve is already cutting interest rates, with further reductions expected.Economists surveyed by Bloomberg reckon there’s a 35% chance of a recession in the next 12 months, up from 15% a year earlier, based on median estimates. Even if the economy skirts a downturn, growth is still expected to slow, which will have implications for President Donald Trump’s re-election chances in 2020.“I don’t see any indication right now that a recession is imminent,” said Ben Herzon, an economist at Macroeconomic Advisers by IHS Markit. “There are definitely areas of concern.”Even so, it may be too late once these

indicators begin to decline. It’s partly what makes recessions so hard to predict – even after they’ve already begun.Here is a selection of key indicators to monitor along with what colour – green, yellow or red – each gauge is flashing now:

Jobless claims (Green)

One of the most closely-watched recession indicators, initial jobless claims have yet to show signs of deteriorating. They show how many Americans are applying to receive unemployment benefits and a sustained pickup suggests companies are boosting layoff s. Still, claims have often levelled off before surging – a period we might be in now.

Consumer spending (Green)

Consumption makes up more than two-thirds of the economy, and the latest gross domestic product data underscore how Americans are driving the expansion. Retail sales off er a timely snapshot of spending each month and a sustained downward trend would signal consumers are pulling back, and economic growth may ultimately falter. While things look good for now, figures due today are projected to show cooler gains in August.

Credit conditions (Green)

A significant tightening in credit conditions can also prelude a recession as banks tighten the spigot in the face of increasing risks. This can be especially challenging for small and medium-sized businesses in need of capital. A Bloomberg gauge shows conditions remain favourable.

Average weekly hours (Green)

This measure faltered in July, with hours in manufacturing falling to the lowest level since 2011 before August data showed a rebound at factories and overall. A sustained downward trend would suggest layoff s are around the corner. “The first order from companies when faced with an economic shock or potential downturn is to cut hours worked,” said Michelle Meyer, head of US economics at Bank of America Corp

Housing market (Yellow)

Housing is a leading indicator in some respects: Americans have to feel comfortable enough in their future financial situation to commit to a mortgage and builders have to feel the outlook is bright enough to construct residences. While sales have stagnated and single-family home permits have

cooled since early 2018, the sector’s implications for the economy have become trickier to read - thanks to a shortage of aff ordable properties and challenges for developers to profit from lower-priced homes.

Yield curve (Yellow-Red)

When the rates on short-term Treasury securities are higher than those for long-term securities – known as an “inverted” curve – it could spell trouble. The spread between three-month and 10-year securities has been inverted for much of the past four months, and such a trend has preceded each of the last seven recessions. Still, the indicator has a history of predicting downturns with long and variable lags, and there’s a case that it’s a less reliable signal than in the past.

Manufacturing (Yellow-Red)

The Fed’s measure of factory output contracted in the first two quarters of 2019, fitting the technical definition of recession. In addition, the Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers’ index showed the sector contracted in August for the first time since 2016, while industry job gains have sharply cooled. Manufacturing makes up only about 11% of the economy but there’s that weakness

will spread more broadly into services, and ultimately to jobs and consumer spending.

Equipment orders (Yellow)

A related measure, US factory orders for business equipment – or bookings for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft – has been cooling since the end of 2017. Former Pacific Investment Management Co chief economist Paul McCulley viewed this as a leading indicator. Weakness preceded the last recession, though a downturn didn’t follow poor orders throughout the 2010s.

Profi t margins (Yellow-Red)

Stephen Gallagher, chief US economist at Societe Generale SA, has been looking to the trend in corporate profit margins. One gauge of those, seen below, has declined to levels not reached since the US was emerging from the last recession.“They’re getting squeezed,” Gallagher said of companies. “When they’re experiencing very thin margins, their anticipations on profitability begin shrinking and they – as a result – tend to cut back or scale back their plans for investment, scale back their plans for hiring.”

France to block development of Facebook Libra cryptocurrencyAFPParis

France warned yesterday it will block de-velopment of Facebook’s planned Libra cryptocurrency in Europe because it

threatens the “monetary sovereignty” of gov-ernments.

“I want to be absolutely clear: in these con-ditions, we cannot authorise the development of Libra on European soil,” France’s economy and fi nance minister Bruno Le Maire said at the opening of an OECD conference on cryptocur-rencies.

Facebook unveiled in June its plans for Libra in an announcement greeted with concern by governments and critics of the social network behemoth whose reputation has been tar-nished by its role in spreading fake information and extremist videos.

Expected to launch in the fi rst half of 2020, Libra is designed to be backed by a basket of currency assets to avoid the wild swings seen with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Another major diff erence is that control over it would not be decentralised but entrusted to a Swiss-based non-profi t association.

Besides Facebook, backers of Libra include payment giants Visa, MasterCard and PayPal as well as ride-hailing apps Lyft and Uber.

French offi cials have been vocal in their warnings about the danger Libra poses since plans for the virtual currency were announced, and Le Maire kept up the pressure at the Thurs-day meeting.

“The monetary sovereignty of countries is at stake” from a “possible privatisation of mon-ey...by a sole actor with more than 2bn users on the planet,” he said.

One concern was the possibility that the cur-rency could help people abandon national cur-rencies in times of crisis, complicating the ef-forts of a government to manage the economy.

Facebook has promoted Libra as an opportu-nity to provide online commerce and fi nancial services at minimal cost to more than a billion “unbanked” people — adults without bank ac-counts or those who use services outside the banking system such as payday loans to make ends meet.

Libra, and the new Calibra digital wallet that would go with it, promises eventually to give Facebook opportunities to build fi nancial serv-ices into its off erings, off er to expand its own commerce and let more small businesses buy ads on the social network.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg reckon there’s a 35% chance of a recession in the next 12 months, up from 15% a year earlier, based on median estimates

Uber has generated billions of dollars from the labour of its drivers without the expense of treating them as employees. California is poised to disrupt that business model, and the ride-hailing behemoth is gearing up for another legal fi ght

The US Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC (file). Fed chair Jerome Powell said last week he was not forecasting or expecting a recession, but reiterated the US central bank would continue to act “as appropriate” to keep the expansion now in its 11th year on track.

2ND EASING MINIMAL COST - Gulf Times

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