BUSINESSBUSINESSTuesday 28 February 2017

PAGE | 26PAGE | 22Oil gains as bets on rising prices hit record high

Entrepreneurs urged to invest in tourism sector

Dow & Brent before going to press

Azerbaijan keen to lure investments from QIASatish Kanady The Peninsula

Azerbaijan , the $53bn economy which is currently on a mis-sion to double its GDP by 2020, is keen

on attracting investments from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). The country’s investment promotion arm AZPROMO (Azerbaijan Export and Invest-ment Promotion Foundation) met with the QIA yesterday and made a presentations on the investment opportunities avail-able in that country's various

sectors. “It’s too early to say whether QIA are interested in any specific sectors. Petrochem-icals, real estate and construction;,

agriculture and food industry; and tourism are the projects we pro-posed to the QIA”, Rufat Mammadov (pictured), President, AZPROMO told The Peninsula yesterday.

"We believe QIA is interested in Azerbaijan. We understand the

QIA authorities will analyse our proposal and the feasibilities of the proposed projects. As next step, we will discuss, where, when and how we can move forward”, Rufat said.

Rufat, who is heading a trade delegation representing the heads of 28 major companies in Azerba-ijan, said the delegation has also met with officials of some large and famous Qatari companies. The delegation members also held individual meetings with their potential counterparts and part-ners in Qatar.

According to him, Azerbaijan witnessed an estimated $6-7bn

foreign direct investment inflow in 2016. Until last year, the large portion of FDI had been directed to energy sectors, especially to the oil and gas. The inflow into the oil sector is witnessing a slowdown due to the slump in oil prices. But the volume is still increasing into the non-oil sectors. So the new projects are, somehow balanicng the FDI inflow into the energy sec-tor. Industry makes up a lion’s share of Azerbaijan’s GDP. The positive performance of this sec-tor is a result of favourable investment climate., renovated energy and transport infrastruc-ture, raw materials resources and

easy access to foreign markets and huge financial opportunities.

Azerbaijan’s food industry is the largest manufacturing sector in terms of production volume. In 2015, volume of food production accounted for $2.698bn. Between 2003 and 2015 food industry attracted $1.236bn of investments into fixed capital.

AZPROMO is a joint public-private-initaitve, established by the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, with the aim to con-tribute to the economic development through attracting foreign investments in the non-oil sectors of economy .

QFC & US-Qatar Business Council sign agreementThe Peninsula

The Qatar Financial Cen-tre (QFC) Authority signed a Memorandum of Under-

standing (MoU) with the US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) to expand collaboration between the two organizations and promote business between the United States and Qatar.

The agreement lays the groundwork for the development of strategic initiatives aimed at benefitting both QFC-licensed firms and USQBC members. The MoU will expose American finan-cial and professional services firms to the QFC’s world-class platform for doing business in Qatar and the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region., QFC noted in a staement issued yesterday

Additionally, the agreement will provide a powerful avenue for firms operating at the QFC to pursue new business and engage with key partners in the US, QFC said. The USQBC counts

prominent Qatari and Fortune 500 companies among its mem-bers, who benefit from USQBC’s programming, advice and coun-sel in seeking bilateral business opportunities.

Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, QFC Authority CEO, said: "This agreement is the latest step by QFC to support the growth of our licensed firms and facilitate the expansion and diversification of the Qatari private sector. Cross-sector collaboration of this sort has been, and will continue to be, central to the success of QFC and the companies we serve.”

USQBC’s Managing Director, Mohammed Barakat commented: “Creating a world-class business environment for companies operating or interested in oper-ating in Qatar is a goal shared by both the USQBC and QFC. With the signing of this agreement, our likeminded organizations com-mit to deepening collaboration and seizing new opportunities for the Qatari and American private.", he said

Qatar's trade surplus surges by 62.2% The Peninsula

QATAR’S trade surplus surged by a stupendous 62.2 percent or QR4.2bn in January on year-on-year and reached QR11bn. The trade balance surplus increased by nearly QR0.2bn or 2.3 percent compared to December 2016, according to preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Develop-ment Planning and Statistics (MDPS).

In January 2017, the total exports of goods, including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports, amounted to around QR20.3bn, an increase of 16.2 percent compared to January 2016, and increased by 5.3 percent on month-on-month.

The imports of goods in January 2017 amounted to around QR9.3bn, showing decrease of 12.9 percent over January 2016. However, on a month on month (M-o-M) basis the imports increased by 9.1 percent.

The year-on-year increase in total exports was mainly due to lower exports of Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons (LNG, condensates, propane, butane, etc.) that touched QR13.3bn, an increase of 13.7 percent.

In January 2017, Japan was at the top destination of Qatar’s exports with close to QR4.4bn, a share of 21.8 per-cent. of total exports, followed by South Korea (QR3.5bn)with a share of 17.3 percent and India with about QR2.4 bn, accoutning for 11.9 percnt of the total exports during the month.

Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida (left) and Mohammed Barakat

GDP shareIndustry makes up a lion’s share of Azerbaijan’s GDP. The sector is driven by favourable investment climate.

$54.22$54.22-0.01-0.01

BRENT10,938.80 +1.73 PTS

0.2%QE

7,253.00 +9.30 PTS

0.13%FTSE100

20,814.34-7.42

0.04%

DOW

22 TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017BUSINESS

Entrepreneurs urged to invest in tourism sectorThe Peninsula

Prominent Qatari busi-ness leaders called on young entrepreneurs to tap into the grow-ing potential of the

country’s burgeoning tourism industry, during the recently hosted ‘QBIC Tourism Speaker Series’.

The event, hosted by Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC), in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), fea-tured several leading businessmen from the Qatari business community, which included Ashraf Abu Issa, Chair-man and CEO of Abu Issa Holding, Walid Al Jaouni, Founder and Chairman of Qatar International Adventures and Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, Founder of International Spearfishing Academy.

The panel was moderated by Mohamed Al Mahmeed, Head of Tourism Investment Promotion at QTA. The event highlighted a number of important themes in t o u r i s m i n v e s t m e n t ,

encouraging entrepreneurs to find a unique local proposition and recognise the value of local natural and cultural assets.

Panelists emphasised the critical steps taken by Qatar over the past two years to lay the foundation for the tourism sec-tor, including key policy changes such as the introduction of a new, free 96-hour transit visa.

With plenty of opportunities ahead, panelists encouraged emerging entrepreneurs to be brave, to invest, and to grow together for the future of Qatar.

Qatar is one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the world, and the only country in the Middle East to achieve consistent growth in tourism arrivals over 2005-2015 accord-ing to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

In recognition of the impo-ratance of the tourism sector, Qatar’s leadership has desig-nated tourism a priority sector in the nation’s efforts to diver-sify its economy in pursuit of Qatar National Vision 2030.

Commenting on the session, Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) CEO and QBIC Chairman, said: “QDB is proud of the ongoing success that the ‘Speaker Series’ is achieving. Sharing success sto-ries and the challenges that entrepreneurs faced is key to knowledge transfer. Tourism is certainly one of the most impor-tant sectors where QDB is making huge efforts to support entrepreneurs so that they can play a pivotal role.”

An initiative supporting QBIC’s mission to develop the

next QR100m companies in Qatar, the Speaker Series is a seasonal programme that brings together startups, regional experts, and successful entrepre-neurs in a dialogue to encourage investment, growth, and an entrepreneurial mindset, with a focus on practical challenges and opportunities in the market.

During the session, the speakers shed light on

the characteristics of a tourism business, the importance of the role that the private sector plays in enhancing the tourism sector through their innovative crea-tivity and investments, the various challenges behind build-ing a business and the products that Qatar needs in the thriving sector, among other topics.

Aysha Al Mudahka, QBIC CEO, said: “QBIC was thrilled to

host the second edition of the speaker series on tourism. Entre-preneurship is an exciting yet challenging line of business, QBIC is dedicated to nurture its incubates through providing them with the best support and training on a local and interna-tional basis.” The initative aims at bridging the gap between bud-ding entrepreneurs, and successful professionals.

Senior officials of QDB, QBIC, and QTA posing for a group photo with the other participants at the ‘QBIC Tourism Speaker Series’ event.

'Speaker Series'The Speaker Series is a seasonal programme that brings together startups, regional experts, and successful entrepreneurs in a dialogue to encourage investment.

The Peninsula

Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, yester-

day said that it has completed acquisition of a stake in AlixPart-ners, a leading global financial and operational consulting firm.

Investcorp acquired its stake in AlixPartners alongside a con-sortium of investors that included Jay Alix, the founder of AlixPartners. AlixPartners’ Man-aging Directors will continue to hold a significant stake in the

Company. Founded in 1981, AlixPartners works with clients to help them restore, grow and create sustainable value, in high-impact situations. Its services comprise performance improve-ment; turnaround and restructuring; investigations, dis-putes and risk; digital transformation; and transforma-tive leadership. AlixPartners is composed of over 1,600 profes-sionals, spread across 27 offices on four continents. Comment-ing on the deal, Johannes Glas (pictured), Managing Director

at Investcorp in Qatar, said, “AlixPartners is one of the lead-ing names in the consulting world. With a highly experienced

team in place, we are confident that AlixPartners will be able to grow further in terms of geo-graphical reach.”

Simon Freakley, Chief Executive Officer of AlixPartners, said: “We are delighted to wel-come Investcorp and our other new strategic investors. Their commitment will allow us to continue to grow our business and best serve our clients. We are now in our 35th year and, with revenues of $1bn, I believe that AlixPartners is on a great trajectory.”

Investcorp acquires stake in AlixPartners Orders for durable goods in US jump 1.8% in JanuaryWashingtonAFP

New orders for US manu-factured goods rose in January after two

straight months of declines, bol-stered by a large monthly swing in aircraft orders, the Com-merce Department reported yesterday.

Excluding the volatile trans-portation sector, however, the trend went in the opposite direc-tion, with January seeing a

decline of 0.2 percent rather than the expected increase.

President Donald Trump has put the manufacturing sector front-and-centre in his jobs-focused political messaging, bringing intense focus to devel-opments in the sector.

Orders for factory-made US goods rose 1.8 percent to $230.4bn for the month, match-ing analyst expectations. Orders for US civilian and defense air-craft and parts rose 69.9 percent and 59.9 percent respectively.

23TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017 BUSINESS

24 TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017BUSINESS

25TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017 BUSINESS

The Peninsula

QNB Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, has

received the “Best Bank in Qatar” award from Asiamoney magazine at its Finance in the Middle East Awards ceremony, which was held recently in Hong Kong to recognize the best banks and deals across the region’s financial markets.

According to Asiamoney, QNB received the award after successfully undergoing all the stringent valuation for financial performance, key strategy, and presence in the market.

QNB’s winning of the award from one of the top financial industry publications is a true testament to the excellence of the bank’s services, business model, competitiveness in an increasingly fierce marketplace,

and the expertise of its management.

The Bank constantly strives to improve the quality of its offering and the efficiency of its operations by always keeping up with the latest developments and adapting to changes in local and international markets. The Bank has won many awards from various international pub-lications in recognition of the excellence of its services and

operations. Asiamoney reports, and offers analysis on, the financial and investment mar-kets for capital issuers, borrowers, institutional inves-tors, and senior corporate and government monetary decision makers.

QNB Group is present, through its subsidiaries and associate companies, in more than 30 countries across three continents

QNB wins ‘Best Bank in Qatar’ award

Commercial Bank hosts forum for Zurich University studentsThe Peninsula

Commercial Bank, Qatar’s first private bank, hosted a knowledge forum at

Commercial Bank Plaza for 32 students from Zurich Universi-ty’s ZHAW School of Management and Law during their visit to Qatar. The students were on a one week visit to Qatar as part of their study tour to the Middle East.

The event, a part of the Com-mercial Bank’s continuous effort to build knowledge based com-munity, was facilitated by its senior management and staff. The participating students were accompanied by their professors and delegates from the Swiss Embassy in Qatar.

The students were greeted by the Bank’s Deputy CEO, Col-lin Macdonald and acquainted to Qatar’s culture and the Bank by Mashael Al Sheebani – Area Manager, Branches.

The two hour knowledge session involved discussions on banking trends and predictions

by EGM, Head of Wholesale Banking Rajbhushan Buddhiraju. Head of Capital Management & ALM, Zubair M Chaiwalla spoke about Finance in real world. The day concluded with a session on transformation to digital bank-ing by EGM, Consumer Banking Amit Sah.

The University and the Swiss embassy delegates thanked the Bank for providing an insight into the Qatar Financial services industry.

Joseph Abraham, Commer-cial Bank CEO, said: “As Qatar’s oldest private sector bank with a history stretching back over forty years and as a leading financial institution in the region, we are proud to share our sig-nificant industry expertise and Qatari insight with the Swiss del-egation. Commercial Bank was the first Qatari bank to list a bond in Switzerland and continuing our Swiss connections through this knowledge sharing event is important for building Commer-cial Bank’s international r e p u t a t i o n a n d

diplomatic relations between our two countries.” Etienne Thévoz, Swiss Ambassador to Qatar, said: “A delegation of 32 Swiss stu-dents from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences visited Doha from February 5 to 9, with the purpose to learn more about Qatar, its institutions and vari-

ous fields of business. The intensive programme

proposed by the Swiss Embassy allowed the students to get per-sonally in touch with high ranking officers from prominent Qatar actors, such as the Com-mercial Bank, Qatar Foundation and Qatar Science Technology

Park.” He added: “The Swiss Embassy and the Swiss Business Hub in Qatar thank all the per-sons involved in the preparation of the tour, which proved to be a real success and allowed the Swiss students to measure the remarkable achievements of the country.”

Students of the Zurich University’s ZHAW School of Management and Law attending a knowledge forum at Commercial Bank Plaza during their visit to Qatar.

MasterCard focuses on

Qatar & GCC marketsThe Peninsula

MasterCard, a leading technology company in the global payments

industry, has announced the appointment of Pankaj Kathu-ria to the role of Area Business Head, Northern Gulf.

The move is part of efforts to further consolidating its presence across key GCC mar-kets, including Qatar, and renew the company’s focus on customer engagement.

Pankaj will join Master-Card’s Middle East and North Africa (Mena) Management Committee and will be respon-sible for leading and driving the company’s full scale of operations in Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain markets that will now come under the fold of MasterCard’s newly formed Northern Gulf Cluster.

As part of his new role, Pankaj’s mandate will include driving business growth and enhancing MasterCard’s focus on building customer relations and strategic alliances with new and existing partners.

“The key changes in the organisational structure across our operations in the Middle East and Africa are a reflection of our rapid growth in this region and have been

rolled out to help us consoli-date our position as a customer-centric company and facilitate our efforts to expand operations and invest-ments in all the key markets.

As we look ahead to another successful year, our team remains committed to Mastercard’s long-term busi-ness strategy and growth plans in this important geography,” said Khalid Elgibali, Division President, Mena, MasterCard. Pankaj joined MasterCard in 2012 and as part of his previ-ous role, oversaw the company’s sales operations in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.

In this capacity, he was responsible at MasterCard for maintaining existing customer base, developing new rela-tionships with financial institutions and helping them achieve their business objec-tives through leveraging Mastercard’s chain of innova-tive products and solutions.

The online payment giant (MasterCard) offers the world’s fastest payments processing network, connect-ing consumers, financial institutions, merchants, gov-ernments and business organisations in more than 210 countries and territories across the globe.

QC holds talks with trade delegation from AzerbaijanThe Peninsula

Qatar Chamber (QC) yesterday held discus-sions with the visiting trade and investment delegation from

Azerbaijan to boost the bilateral businesses.

Addressing a Business Forum, jointly hosted by Azerba-ijan and Qatar Chamber, the Chamber Vice Chairman Muhammed bin Ahmed bin Towar said that the Qataris are looking to explore available investment opportunities in Azerbaijan. Qatar Chamber, will support the establishment of partnerships and projects between Qatari and Azerbaijani businessmen.

Qatar and Azerbaijan hold diplomatic relations since 1994 and is of top priority to both nations' leaderships; the eco-nomic diversity is considered one of the main pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030 which encourages businessmen to

explore innovative fields in order to enable balanced foreign investments.

Towar said Qatar offers one of the best investment and trade opportunities to the international investors. With the country lin-ing up a large number of projects in the run up to the FIFA World Cup, it has become an attractive destination for the investors across the world.

QC is glad to provide all infor-mation and data on the local market to the Azerbaijani com-panies and to connect them with potential Qatari partners. Rufat Mammadov, President of

Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) said that the goal of the visit is to deepen the trade and economic relations between both economies and encourage mutual investment.

Mammadov did a presenta-tion on Azerbaijan's abilities and investment opportunities which covers the availability of natural resources such as petrol and gas. He also explained on the invest-ment opportunities available in the fields of agriculture, tourism, food manufacturing, communi-cations and chemical industries in Azerbaijan.

Rufat invited Qatari busi-nessmen to explore the business opportunities in Azerbaijan which is considered an impor-tant investment destination due to the incentives set by its gov-ernment such as the ease of company registration procedures and tax exemptions.

There is a six-fold increase in the arrival of Qatari tourists in Azerbaijan in the past few years.

I hope the trade volume would also witness a similar increase in the coming years, he said.

Qatar and Azerbaijan are well connected in businesses and investment. “this is our second visit to Qatar and this visit will

increase the level of co-opera-tion between the business communities of both the coun-tries”, he said.

Currently, Azerbaijan is embarked on a ‘2015-2020 State Programme” to promote the

local industry. The programme has its focus on industrial mod-ernization, increasing export of non-oil industries , bringing in innovations in productions and improving the country’s invest-ment attractiveness.

Muhammed bin Ahmed bin Towar (right), Vice-Chairman of QC, and Rufat Mammadov, President of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation at QC, yesterday.

Trade partnershipQatar Chamber, will support the establishment of partnerships and projects between Qatari and Azerbaijani businessmen.

Stock markets diverge; all eyes on TrumpLondonAFP

World stock markets diverged yesterday, as a recent Trump-

inspired rally showed signs of fragility.

A record 11th successive all-time high close for New York's Dow on Friday came as inves-tors nevertheless are growing worried that the recent buying -- fuelled by expectations that US President Donald Trump will introduce economy-boosting measures -- may have gone too far. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's warning that growth might not hit the four percent Trump promised, as well as uncertainty around the new

president's plans to slash taxes and spend big on infrastructure, sent the dollar tumbling at the end of last week, before recov-ering ground yesterday.

"The markets are continu-ing to find a way to squeeze out new highs and post small gains on a daily basis, a large portion of which appears to be attribut-able to the apparently substantial but as yet unknown stimulus measures from the Trump administration," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group.

Elsewhere, the London Stock Exchange on Sunday said it is "highly unlikely" it will be able to meet antitrust conditions set by Brussels for its tie-up with Deutsche Boerse, throwing the

merger into doubt. The announcement by LSE, which also operates the Milan stock exchange, is the latest twist in its longstanding attempt to merge with the German stock exchange operator.

The LSE said it had exam-ined the European Commission's request to divest its majority stake in Italian trading unit MTS, concluding it could not commit to such a request. LSE and Deut-sche Boerse were both trading down 2.6 percent around the half-way mark in yesterday 's European trading, "as it becomes clear that the merger... is on a knife-edge", noted Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital.

"The regulatory hurdles

were always a risk and with Brexit there are additional hur-dles to clear that seem close to insurmountable now," he added. Despite yesterday 's focus on the LSE, "this week it's really about President Trump, his address to a joint sitting of Congress and his tax plan", said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at Axi-Trader. "I get a sense traders want to believe in him -- hence the stocks rally -- but (with haven investment) gold up and rates down suggest there is some fraying at the edges of market ebullience."

Markets are hoping the speech on Tuesday will provide more details about Trump's tax pledge, which he said this month would be "phenomenal".

Brexit may spark unrest: HungaryBREXIT may speed the crea-tion of a two-speed European Union, threatening the devel-opment of the eastern members outside of the euro area and potentially stoking social unrest, Hungarian Economy Minister Mihaly Varga said.

The eurozone may prove a dividing line between a core Europe and the rest, Varga said in an interview yesterday. He reiterated that Hungary remains uninterested in adopting the euro for now. Brexit will reduce Hungary’s economic growth by 0.4 per-cent over three years, he said. “The threat is that the gap between developed and less-developed EU member states won’t narrow significantly, or it will do so at a much slower pace than we currently think” in a two-speed, post-Brexit Europe, Varga said. “This has the potential to generate social unrest.”

26 TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017BUSINESS

Oil gains as bets on rising prices hit record highLondonReuters

Oil prices rose yes-terday as investors showed record confidence in prices rising fur-

ther, though gains were capped by the prospect of faster growth in US oil production.

Brent crude oil rose 52 cents to $56.51 a barrel by 12:24 GMT, while US West Texas Interme-diate added 42 cents to $54.41.

Investors raised their bets on rising Brent crude oil prices to a new high last week, data from the InterContinental Exchange showed yesterday, breaking the 500,000-lot mark for the first time on record.

Money managers also raised their bullish US crude futures and options positions in the week to February 21 to the highest on record, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.

Investors now hold 951,312 lots’ worth of US and Brent crude futures and options, equivalent to nearly 1 billion barrels of oil and valued at more than $52bn, based on cur-rent Brent and WTI benchmark prices.

“With speculators increas-ing their bullish bets on US crude to an all-time high, the risk of disappointment and sub-sequent downward spiral in prices has never been greater,” oil brokerage PVM’s Stephen Brennock said.

Among the risks is the level of compliance to the deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and other producers to bring down oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d).

Opec’s record compliance with the deal has surprised the market, and the biggest lag-gards, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, have pledged to catch up with their targets.

The International Energy Agency put Opec’s average compliance at a record 90 per-cent in January. Based on a Reuters average of production surveys, compliance stands at 88 percent.

Looming over the success of the deal is the reaction of US shale producers to rising prices and their ability to increase output.

US drillers added five oil rigs in the week to February 24 to 602, the most since October 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday.

Over the past two weeks the US implied shale oil rig count went up by 15.

“ is marginally higher than our projected 7 rigs per week for first half 2017,” wrote Nor-dic bank SEB chief commodities analyst Bjarne Schieldrop.

The bank has adjusted its dynamic price forecast for 2019 marginally lower, from $68.30 a barrel to $67.90.

Oil prices riseInvestors now hold 951,312 lots’ worth of US and Brent crude futures and options, equivalent to nearly 1 billion barrels of oil and valued at more than $52bn.

US drillers added five oil rigs in the week to February 24 to 602, the most since October 2015

Aramco to invest $7bn in Malaysian oil refinery project Kuala LumpurAFP

Saudi Arabia's Aramco will invest $7bn in a giant Malaysian oil refinery

project, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday, as he declared ties with the kingdom were "at an all-time high".

The deal between Aramco and Malaysian state energy firm Petronas for the $27bn project will be signed Today, the prime minister said.

"This is a huge investment and is very significant," said Najib. The vast scheme under construction in the southern state of Johor near the Singapore border is known as the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development Project.

It is being led by Petronas, which said last month develop-ment was more than 50 per cent complete, with the project set to come online in 2019.

Victor Shum, vice president for energy at global consultancy IHS Markit, said the deal was a "win-win situation".

"Having Saudi Aramco as a partner with Petronas is a boost for the project and for Malay-sia," he said.

"For Aramco it's more than just an outlet for its crude sup-plies. They are now part owner of the plant."

He added: "It's really going to make this region -- Singapore and South Johor -- a major refining and petrochemical hub in Southeast Asia."

The project is expected to

create thousands of jobs in Malaysia, according to Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda, adding it would pro-vide stiff competition to Singapore, a major refinery hub.

Najib made the refinery announcement on the second day of a four-day state visit to Malaysia by Saudi Arabia's King Salman. He told reporters: "The visit will cement and put our relationship on a strong trajec-tory," adding the Saudi head of state was "satisfied and happy" the agreement would be signed.

Malaysia is keen to attract foreign investment as the energy-exporting, trade-dependent economy has seen growth stead-ily slow in recent years, denting revenues and putting severe pres-sure on the ringgit.

Saudi suspends domestic bond issues for fifth month: reportAl KhobarReuters

Saudi Arabia’s goverm-nent has decided to suspend its monthly

issue of domestic bonds in February, refraining from issuing local currency bonds for a fifth month in a row, the Maaal financial news service reported yesterday.

The suspension is possi-ble because higher oil prices have improved government revenues and the govern-ment’s $17.5bn issue of international bonds last Octo-ber was successful, Maaal quoted unnamed official sources as saying.

The halt to domestic bond issues has helped to ease a liquidity squeeze in the bank-ing system that sent the three-month interbank offered rate soaring to an eight-year high of 2.386 per-cent in late October. The rate fell to 1.795 percent yesterday.

Finance minister Moham-med al-Jadaan told Reuters in late December that Riyadh expected to resume monthly domestic bond sales some-time in the first quarter of 2017.

New YorkBloomberg

Tesla Inc. fell more than 3 percent in pre-market trading after Goldman

Sachs Group Inc. turned nega-tive on the stock and cast doubt on Chairman Elon Musk’s (pic-tured) ability to deliver the company’s new vehicle on time.

Analyst David Tamberrino downgraded the stock to sell from neutral and trimmed his

six-month price target to $185 from $190. That helped send shares to as low as $480.75 as of 8:53 am in New York. Tesla closed at $257 on February 24.

"Ultimately we see a delayed launch," Tamberrino wrote in the report of the company’s antici-pated Model 3 electric sedan. This downgrade compounds record bearishness among Tesla analysts. The company’s shares lost 5.6 percent of their value last week as analysts questioned the

quality of the firm’s fourth-quar-ter earnings report, which exceeded expectations. Cowen & Co. analyst Jeffrey Osborne dubbed the performance a "phantom beat."

Last week, Musk said the firm’s new vehicle is on sched-ule to arrive in July.

Tamberrino expects that Tesla will be forced to issue $1.7 billion in shares in the third quarter to fund its capital-spending plans.

Tesla stock falls in pre-market trading

LondonReuters

Gold steadied yesterday near to the 3-1/2 month highs hit last week as

investors waited for US Presi-dent Donald Trump to outline plans for tax cuts, infrastructure spending, levies on imports and foreign policy.

Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,258.5 an ounce at 14:43 GMT, having touched its highest since November 11 at $1,260.10 on Fri-day. US gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $1,259.3.

Trump is due to address Con-gress today.

“What he reveals might be important for gold. For example, if he announces significant fis-cal easing, that would raise inflation expectations and lead investors into gold,” said Danske Bank analyst Jens Pederson.

“But the border adjustment tax (import tax) could push the dollar higher and that could be negative for gold.”

Analysts also expect nerv-ousness ahead of elections in the Netherlands, France and Ger-many to help to buoy gold prices over the course of this year but say that US interest rates are also important.

Higher US rates could mean

a stronger US currency, which makes dollar-denominated met-als more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The US central bank meets March 14-15, though rate increases are largely expected to be postponed until the June meeting.

Bets on higher prices can be seen in data from the CFTC, showing hedge funds and money managers holding larger net long positions in COMEX gold, reach-ing the highest in nearly three months during the week to Feb. 21.

Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,

New York’s SPDR Gold Trust , have also risen more than 5 per-cent this month.

However, attempts to push prices higher have met strong resistance in recent days at $1,260, near the 200-day mov-ing average, traders said.

Spot silver gained 0.1 percent to $18.37 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.7 percent to $1,040.7, having earlier marked its strong-est in nearly five months at $1,041.70.

Palladium rose 1.6 percent to $780.4. Societe Generale sees robust demand for palladium auto catalysts from Chinese car manufacturers.

Gold prices edge up; investors await Trump's speech today

A file photo of an oil rig operated by Saudi Aramco.

Sochi, RussiaReuters

Russia may cut oil produc-tion as part of an Opec-led agreement

designed to boost prices faster than it had previously expected, if its domestic companies are able, Energy Minister Alexan-der Novak said yesterday.

Russia had said it would cut oil output by 200,000 barrels per day (b/d) by the end of the first quarter compared with October’s levels, and by a fur-ther 300,000 b/d in April as

part of the global deal.“We will be aiming to cut

faster ... Depending on compa-nies’ capabilities,” Novak told reporters in Sochi.

The deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers led by Russia in December, envisaged total cuts of around 1.8 million b/d during the first half of the year.

He added that Russia will cut oil production in February by more than the 117,000 b/d it reduced in January.

Russia may speedoil output cutsNew York

Bloomberg

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. increased its stake in iPhone maker Apple Inc.

to about 133 million shares, Chairman Warren Buffett told CNBC.

That’s more than twice as much as Berkshire held as of December 31, the billionaire told the cable network in an interview Monday. The stake is valued at more than $18bn, based on Friday’s closing price of $136.66.

Berkshire has been accel-erating stock purchases in

recent months, adding to stakes in the largest US airlines and Apple. Buffett said the 2017 Apple purchases were made before the company posted quarterly earnings on January 31, a report that pushed shares higher than he wanted to pay.

“Apple strikes me as hav-ing quite a sticky product and an enormously useful prod-uct to people that use it, not that I do,” Buffett said, prais-ing Tim Cook, the technology company’s chief executive officer. “He’s been very intel-l igent about capi ta l deployment.”

Apple climbed 0.3 percent

to $137.10 in early trading at 7:32 am in New York. That compares with $105.26 at the end of 2015. Berkshire dis-closed a stake in the first half of 2016 and increased the hold-ing later that year.

Buffett said he accumu-lated about 123 million of the Apple shares, and that one of his deputies acquired the rest, without identifying the invest-ment manager. Berkshire hired Todd Combs in 2010 and Ted Weschler in 2011 to help pick stocks and eventually assume his role managing the company’s investment portfolio.

Buffett also discussed the airline bets, saying that one of his deputies oversees a stake in American Airlines Group Inc., “and I have the other three.” Berkshire also holds stock in Delta Air Lines Inc., Southwest Airlines Co. and United Conti-nental Holdings Inc., with stakes of more than 7 percent in each company.

Weschler invested in the airline industry before joining Berkshire and took a fresh look at the business after American CEO Doug Parker gave an investor presentation in March, people familiar with the mat-ter said earlier this year.

Berkshire ups stake in Apple to $18bn

Gold of 24 karat bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York, US.

French 10-year bond yields hit a one-month low on Monday, pushing other euro zone sov-ereign yields lower, while a more cautious mood hung over world stock markets and the dollar, both of which struggled for clear

direction.The fall in French bond yields came as polls showed

centrist Emmanuel Macron would easily beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in May's presidential election runoff, relieving some fears that have built up in recent weeks among investors.

"Macron gained further support in the polls," said DZ Bank rates strategist Rene Albrecht. "Another important point is that it looks like Hamon and Melenchon won't merge, so there is less of a chance that we will have a left-wing candidate that could outpace Macron or Fillon."

Hard-left candidates Benoit Hamon and Jean-Luc Melenchon have said they are discussing cooperation in their bid for the presidency but are seen struggling to find a common platform.

World stocks and the dollar trod water, while U.S. Treasury yields recovered some ground following last week's decline, the steepest weekly fall in months.

In Europe, the French-led fall in bond yields and tightening of spreads over Ger-many were the most notable moves at the start of a week in which U.S. President Don-

ald Trump's State of the Union address on Tues-day will loom large.

T r u m p i s expected to unveil some elements of his plans to cut taxes in his joint a d d r e s s t o Congress.

F r a n c e ' s 10-year bond yield fell 2.5 basis points to a one-month low of 0.90 percent, outperforming euro zone peers. Safe-haven German bond yields edged

higher, narrowing the gap between French peers to around 70 basis points, its tightest level in just over a week.

Fears about the French election had pushed the yield gap to around 84 bps last week - the highest since late 2012. Benchmark Spanish, Italian and Portuguese yields all fell between 3 and 5 basis points.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 2.335 percent. On Friday it hit a five-week low of 2.31 per-cent, and last week's fall of nearly 11 basis points was the steepest weekly decline since July last year.

It was also a mixed bag in stocks. Benchmark Euro-pean markets were flat, Asian bourses fell and U.S. futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street.

"This morning's moves follow what was a fairly cau-tious end to the week on Friday for markets," said Jim Reid, markets strategist at Deutsche Bank. MSCI's bench-mark world stock index slipped 0.1 percent to 444.53 points, on course for its first consecutive daily fall for three weeks.

Debate over a border-adjustment tax is consuming Washington, but another, less-discussed pro-posal in House Speaker Paul Ryan’s tax plan stands a better

chance of being included in a GOP overhaul bill.

The measure would force companies to include the interest they pay on loans in their taxable income. That could pit financial serv-ices firms such as banks and insurers that have been promised relief from the proposal against private equity firms, which rely on leverage and wouldn’t get special treatment.

As Ryan struggles to get support within his own party for border adjustments, the interest provision is more likely to be included in a House tax bill, according to Robert Willens, an independent tax and accounting expert. That’s because eliminat-ing interest deductions may be politically easier for Congress to support since con-sumers wouldn’t be directly affected, as critics of border adjustability argue, Willens said.

More House Republicans are also sup-portive of making the tax treatment of debt equal to that of equity, which the GOP inter-est provision would effectively do, since companies can’t currently deduct dividend payments, according to Willens.

Companies are “just starting to get their minds around it and to think about how it will affect them,” said Robert Gordon, man-aging director at True Partners Consulting, a corporate tax consulting firm and a former senior tax executive at BP Plc.

Part of what complicates who wins and who loses is that related to the interest meas-ure is a plan to allow companies to deduct

the cost of capital expenses for plants, equip-ment and buildings immediately, instead of spreading those expenditures out over sev-eral years. That would free up tax dollars to reinvest in the business.

Still, Gordon said the trade-off wouldn’t be equal for companies that have spent their cash on dividends and stock buybacks in recent years rather than on plants and new equipment.

Proponents of the House plan say that ending the interest deduction would let mar-ket forces more efficiently allocate investment where it’s most productive and curb excessive borrowing by companies. “Special rules” would be developed for banks, insurers and leasing companies to take into account the important role inter-est income and expense play in their business models, according to the GOP blueprint. Some experts expect concessions for small businesses, which tend to rely on debt financing.

The tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee is still reviewing the special cir-cumstances that arise for particular industries, according to a person familiar with the discussions who asked not to be named because the matter is private. If a grandfather clause were included that allowed companies to continue to take inter-

est deductions on existing debt, it would apply to all industries, the person said.

The Ryan-backed plan calls for cutting the tax rate to

20 percent for traditional companies, and applying that rate to domestic sales and imported goods while exempting exports. That’s led to a face off between import-dependent industries such as retail against export-heavy ones like manufacturing. The House GOP proposal also calls for a 25 per-cent rate for partnerships and other "pass-through" entities that are a mainstay of private equity.

During the campaign, President Donald Trump proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and allowing certain man-ufacturers the choice between deducting their interest expenses or immediate expens-ing of equipment, rather than completely eliminating the interest deduction, as the House GOP plan does. Trump has said his tax plan is “nearly finalized,” but he hasn’t provided any details.

The ability to finance a buyout by sad-dling a company with debt is key to the private equity playbook. Under current tax law, buyout shops can knock the portfolio company’s cost of debt -- meaning interest expense -- off of its taxable income. Firms use this allowance to reduce the target com-pany’s tax liability. It also makes leverage more attractive.

“Private equity gets stung” by the removal of the interest deduction since so many of those firms depend on it, said Evan Migdail, a tax lawyer at DLA Piper. Black-stone Group LP said the interest expense change could make using leverage less attractive for new investments, which could force it to adjust its funds’ investment strat-egies and potentially lower returns for investors, according to the private equity firm’s annual report released last week. The tax measure could also hurt the profitabil-ity of portfolio companies, the report said.

Companies are scouring their business models to see if eliminating interest deduct-ibility would squeeze profit margins or deter an acquiring company from "pushing down" debt onto a target company, said, a spokes-man for the American Investment Council.

Huw Jones, John O'Donnell and Andreas Kröner Reuters

The London Stock Exchange has all but ended a planned merger with Deutsche Boerse to create Europe's biggest

stock exchange by ruling out a European antitrust demand, say-ing it has strong prospects alone.

In a bid to create a European trading powerhouse that would better compete against US rivals making inroads on their home turf, the two exchanges struck a €29 bn ($30.1bn) deal just over a year ago.

If the merger fails, it will be the latest in a series of doomed efforts at dealmaking by stock exchanges and the likely break-down of the latest attempt disappointed investors, with shares in Deutsche Boerse tum-bling more than 4 percent in early trading and London Stock Exchange shares down 3 percent.

In a highly unusual step, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Sunday preempted a European Commission antitrust decision, saying it was unlikely to give clearance for the merger after the London bourse had refused to sell an electronic trading platform in Italy. A deal would now only be possible if the Commission, which declined to comment, were to change its demands - an outcome that is unlikely given its approach in other mergers.

There had already been four attempts, two public and two informal, to combine the London

and Frankfurt bourses during the past decade, while the European Union (EU) blocked a $17bn tie-up between what was then NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse in 2012.

However, while hopes had been high that the plan to create what the head of Deutsche Boerse dubbed a financial bridge between continental Europe and Britain, this had been called into question by Brexit, with German politicians demanding Frankfurt not London be the headquarters of the group because Britain would be leaving the trading bloc.

The question over where the headquarters should be, which would have arisen had EU author-ities given the deal a green light, worried LSE executives, two peo-ple familiar with the matter said.

Britain's departure from the EU may isolate London as Europe's financial centre and that had turned the tables in favour of Frankfurt. But a source close to

LSE described the sale of fixed-income trading platform MTS as a key problem because such a move was firmly opposed by Rome.

"MTS has the largest chunk of Italian government bonds which made the Italian authorities wary of a change of ownership." Deut-sche Boerse said that decision not to sell MTS had been made by the LSE, adding that it expected a decision by the Commission by the end of the month.

The LSE had said in a state-ment late on Sunday that the Commission had asked it to sell its 60 percent stake in MTS to sat-isfy antitrust concerns over the merger of Europe's two largest market operators.

Calling the request "dispro-portionate," the British exchange said it believed that it would strug-gle to sell MTS and that such a sale would be detrimental to its busi-ness. "Based on the commission's current position, LSE believes that

the Commission is unlikely to pro-vide clearance for the merger," it said.

The exchanges had already agreed to sell part of LSE's clear-ing business, LCH SA, in order to satisfy antitrust requirements.

LSE said the Commission had also raised concerns this month about the impact on the European market landscape of access to bond and repo trading feeds were the two exchanges to merge. LSE said it had offered certain proposals to address this but that the commission had requested they sell all of MTS instead.

MTS is a small part of LSE's business but it said it was a major platform for trading European government bonds, particularly in Italy, and that it was "systemically important". LSE said that such a sale would need regulatory approval from several governments in Europe, and it would be detrimental to its wider Italian business.

French bond yields fall as political jitters easeJamie McGeever Reuters

France's 10-year bond yield fell 2.5 basis points to a one-month low of 0.90 percent, outperforming euro zone peers. Safe-haven German bond yields edged higher, narrowing the gap between French peers to around 70 basis points, its tightest level in just over a week.

Next big tax fight could pit Wall Street against private equity firms

A sign board seen on Wall Street.

Lynnley Browning Bloomberg

The ability to finance a buyout by saddling a company with debt is key to the private equity playbook. Under current tax law, buyout shops can knock the portfolio company’s cost of debt off of its taxable income.

Britain's departure from the EU may isolate London as Europe's financial centre and that had turned the tables in favour of Frankfurt.

LSE-Deutsche Boerse merger in danger as EU demand rejected

27TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017BUSINESS VIEWS

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

28 TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017BUSINESS

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - A LIST OF SHARES FROM THE WORLD

A C C-A/D 1418.45 -18.95 12149

Aban Offs-A/D 234.7 -2.25 149196

Aegis Logis-B/D 205.35 5.45 90504

Alembic-B/D 39.15 0.3 118206

Alkyl Amines-B/D 370 6.3 2188

Alok Indus-B/D 3.32 -0.1 454759

Apollo Tyre-A/D 184.65 0.4 340608

Asahi I Glass-/D 210.05 -2.45 3626

Ashok Leyland-/D 89.25 -1.35 1076134

Ballarpur In-B/D 15.5 -0.3 248714

Banaras Bead-B/D 82.15 -3.9 12803

Bata India-A/D 500 2 14322

Beml Ltd-A/D 1344.5 24.7 86817

Bh Electronic-/D 1507.85 0.75 232208

Bhansali Eng-T/D 23.85 -0.5 211880

Bharat Bijle-B/D 853.6 8.8 2089

Bharatgears-B/D 113.3 1.7 1875

Bhartiya Int-B/D 476.95 11.65 16468

Bhel-A/D 153 -0.5 451257

Bom.Burmah-B/D 675 11.85 52039

Bombay Dyeing-/D 57.4 -0.5 335650

Canfin Homes-B/D 1930 -63.05 12051

Caprihans-Xc/D 92.5 -0.6 3197

Castrol India-/D 416.85 -0.85 251213

Century Enka-B/D 327.1 1.8 7403

Century Text-A/D 943.2 -3 116333

Chambal Fert-B/D 82.55 0.6 88038

Chola Invest-A/D 973.35 -40.1 37136

Chowgule St-T/D 14.09 -0.65 8743

Cimmco-B/D 64.6 -0.6 1923

Cipla-A/D 587.9 -3.7 81630

City Union Bk-/D 145.5 -2.55 18308

Colgate-A/D 893 -0.75 39717

Container Cor-/D 1221.5 32.5 28757

Dai-Tichi Kar-/D 492 -8.45 1249

Dcm Financia-T/D 3.1 0.14 12916

Dcm Shram Ind-/D 298.85 -2.85 12575

Dhampur Sugar-/D 190.75 -5.3 38953

Dr. Reddy-A/D 2857.9 -32.25 39583

E I H-B/D 102 -1.5 9943

E.I.D Parry-A/D 289 -1.05 12423

Eicher Motor-A/D 24333.65 -555.95 2998

Eimco Elecon-T/D 519 18 1465

Electrosteel-B/D 26.85 -0.5 50835

Emco-B/D 28.1 -1 76561

Escorts Fin-B/D 11.12 1.01 72741

Escorts-A/D 452.95 32.8 800222

Eveready Indu-/D 247.2 -3.85 15605

F D C-B/D 211.4 -1.05 4326

Federal Bank-A/D 83.4 -0.65 474373

Ferro Alloys-T/D 9 -0.01 27962

Finolex-A/D 538 10.7 208139

Gail-A/D 516.5 -0.6 134302

Galada Power-B/D 8.6 0.45 4373

Gammon India-T/D 12.3 -0.26 105435

Garden P -B/D 30.5 -0.15 7669

Godfrey Phil-B/D 1040.9 4.15 7637

Goodricke-B/D 298.25 1.25 56831

Goodyear I -B/D 707.5 -8.4 9132

Hcl Infosys-B/D 54.05 -0.25 253472

Him.Fut.Comm-T/D 13.89 0.06 407265

Himat Seide-B/D 347.4 -9.35 7398

Hind Unilever-/D 866.5 8.15 323628

Hind Motors-T/D 10.87 -0.15 359141

Hind Org Chem-/D 25.95 1.2 62671

Hind.Petrol-A/D 559.7 -11.3 268468

Hindalco-A/D 180.3 -1.8 810094

Hous Dev Fin-A/D 1377.5 -7.6 86628

I F C I-A/D 29.1 -0.6 480745

Idbi-A/D 78.95 -2.8 359431

Ifb Agro-B/D 439.9 -12.15 1403

Ifb Ind.Ltd.-B/D 620 -11.1 2013

India Cement-A/D 164.5 -1.8 135659

India Glycol-B/D 159.2 -4.25 18667

Indian Hotel-A/D 120.45 -1.45 18197

Indo-Tcount-T/D 164.5 5 48454

Indusind-A/D 1320 -19.7 25383

J.B.Chemical-B/D 326.65 -5.15 7933

Jagson Phar-B/D 39.45 -0.45 1807

Jamnaauto-B/D 209.3 -7.6 32336

Jbf Indu-B/D 245.4 -3.2 13267

Jct Ltd-B/D 5.03 0.04 360080

Jenson&Nich.-B/D 8.99 0.27 52563

Jindal Drill-B/D 172.45 0.5 12051

Jktyre&Ind-A/D 121.9 1.1 226490

Jmc Projects-T/D 218.3 -3.45 3817

Kabra Extr-B/D 112.3 -1.25 1628

Kajaria Cer-A/D 573.75 10.95 8373

Kakatiya Cem-B/D 330.25 -9.55 7460

Kalpat Power-B/D 287.9 0.6 2002

Kalyani Stel-T/D 339.35 -1.5 12885

Kanoria Chem-B/D 69.25 -0.8 6143

Kg Denim-B/D 78.1 0.2 33964

Kilburnengg-Xd/D 55.15 -2.75 16504

Kinetic Eng-Xc/D 77.55 -1.2 2070

Kopran-B/D 67.85 1.45 203996

Lakshmi Elec-B/D 465 -3.1 1352

Lgb Broth-B/D 553.75 -14.9 3122

Lloyd Metal-Xt/D 17.48 0.25 25965

Lok.Hous&Con-Z/D 3.71 -0.19 19488

Lumax Ind-B/D 1353 130.15 30987

Lupin-A/D 1463.8 10.45 109216

Lyka Labs-T/D 57.35 -0.4 6202

Mafatlal Ind-B/D 277 14.25 7347

Mah.Seamless-B/D 333.35 3.15 25780

Mangalam Cem-B/D 303 2.1 7927

Maral Overs-B/D 37.65 -0.3 11145

Mastek-B/D 188.5 2.5 32441

Max Financial-/D 565 -12.45 54080

Mrpl-A/D 107.5 1.35 111059

Nagreeka Ex-B/D 32.5 0 3595

Nahar Spg.-B/D 130.5 -1.55 3883

Nation Alum -A/D 67.85 2.05 360067

Navneet Edu-B/D 143.15 0.8 11972

Nepc India-Z/D 1.77 -0.02 18731

Neuland Lab-B/D 911 8.4 2044

Nrb Bearings-B/D 110 1.35 3348

O N G C-A/D 194.45 -1.2 550434

Ocl India-B/D 898.4 -27.45 3341

Oil Country-T/D 42.2 -0.8 11296

Onward Tech-B/D 68.5 0.95 6700

Orchid Pharm-B/D 27.75 -0.8 160658

Orient Hotel-T/D 26.45 -0.3 5377

Orient.Carb.-T/D 896.65 34.4 7069

Oudh Sugar-B/D 139.25 -2.55 51982

Pacific Indu-B/D 126.1 -1 1520

Patspin India-/D 13.95 0.05 22406

Punjab Chem.-B/D 283.9 1.85 2851

Radico Khait-B/D 133.8 2.9 122445

Rallis India-A/D 236.1 -0.4 13928

Reliance Indus/D 446.35 11.9 388184

Ruchi Soya-B/D 26.3 0.3 323705

S Bk Bikaner-B/D 739.95 6.6 4024

Salora Inter-B/D 63.75 0.75 1298

Samtel-Xt/D 4.81 0.22 1000

Saur.Cem-B/D 58.55 0.7 25021

Sterling Tool-/D 193.05 -1.2 3973

Tanfac Indust-/D 60 -0.05 30342

Thirumalai-B/D 845.3 -7.8 14894

Timexgroup-T/D 57.75 3.55 154417

Tinplate-B/D 80.2 -0.05 31922

Ucal Fuel-B/D 181.5 0.2 24687

Ultramarine-B/D 169.55 1.1 10610

Unitech P -A/D 5.83 0.06 4607733

Univcable-B/D 91 1.1 106746

Uppergsugar-T/D 351.35 -7.45 16604

3i Group/D 687 -0.5 329861

Assoc.Br.Foods/D 2614 3 560945

Barclays/D 225.913 0 24160935

Bp/D 452.35 5.25 7429083

Brit Am Tobacc/D 5088.22 19 633710

Bt Group/D 330.85 -2.05 4230999

Centrica/D 225.7 0 4843624

Gkn/D 343 -2.1 871076

Hsbc Holdings/D 650.8 0.5 12266397

Kingfisher/D 324.6 0.8 5902610

Land Secs Grou/D 1054.2718 -12 332221

Legal & Genera/D 247.7 0.5 4278551

Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 69.373 0.09 62556237

Marks & Sp./D 330.1 1.8 1314444

Next/D 3790 -1 195205

Pearson/D 653 -4 1239218

Prudential/D 1613.5 4.5 1071406

Rank Group/D 209.5 0.2 11972

Rentokil Initi/D 233.4 -0.4 729377

Rolls Royce Pl/D 763.835 0 1262697

Rsa Insrance G/D 595.006 0.5 1438651

Sainsbury(J)/D 267.4 1.8 1850213

Schroders/D 3010.6361 3 44626

Severn Trent/D 2320.26 -25 365502

Smith&Nephew/D 1197 -9 898366

Smiths Group/D 1487 5 255455

Standrd Chart /D 727.1 -3.4 2654521

Tate & Lyle/D 738 1.5 444464

Tesco/D 189.7 -0.3 7852651

Unilever/D 3819.5 46.5 2253451

United Util Gr/D 972.5 -6.5 530100

Vodafone Group/D 201.85 -1 12418473

Whitbread/D 3794 -6 77963

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

LONDON

QE Index 10,938.80 0.02 %

QE Total Return Index 17,841.29 0.07 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 4,200.68 0.47 %

QE All Share Index 3,023.68 0.01 %

QE All Share Banks & 3,093.95 0.03 %

Financial Services

QE All Share Industrials 3,449.78 0.39 %

QE All Share Transportation 2,498.31 0.42 %

QE All Share Real Estate 2,432.47 0.09 %

QE All Share Insurance 4,445.03 0.71 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,277.89 1.92 %

QE All Share Consumer 6,439.11 0.39 %

Goods & Services

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

27-02-2017Index 10,938.80

Change 1.73

% 0.02

YTD% 4.81

Volume 15,299,536

Value (QAR) 591,649,710.36

Trades 5,323

Up 20 | Down 20 | Unchanged 0026-02-2017Index 10,937.07

Change 11.67

% 0.11

YTD% 4.79

Volume 6,911,732

Value (QAR) 299,757,096.91

Trades 3,314

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR140.3039 per grammeSILVER QR2.1560 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year LowAll Ordinaries 5773.761 -13.123 -0.23 5880.9 5635.1

Cac 40 Index/D 4842.47 -2.77 -0.06 4932.35 4733.82

Dj Indu Average 20821.76 11.44 0.05 20840.7 16165.9

Hang Seng Inde/D 23925.05 -40.65 -0.17 24216.53 21883.82

Iseq Overall/D 6497.09 12.7 0.2 6665.89 6369.05

Kse 100 Inx/D 48520.75 -487.24 -0.99 50886.8 47878.33

S&P 500 Index/D 2367.34 3.53 0.149335 2368.26 2245.13

Currency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 4.4917 QR 4.5545

Euro QR 3.8310 QR 3.8843

CA$ QR 2.7522 QR 2.8064

Swiss Fr QR 3.5948 QR 3.6449

Yen QR 0.0321 QR 0.0327

Aus$ QR 2.7696 QR 2.8240

Ind Re QR 0.0541 QR 0.0552

Pak Re QR 0.0344 QR 0.0351

Peso QR 0.0718 QR 0.0732

SL Re QR 0.0237 QR 0.0243

Taka QR 0.0451 QR 0.0461

Nep Re QR 0.0338 QR 0.0345

SA Rand QR 0.2787 QR 0.2842