BUSINESSBUSINESSWednesday 13 December 2017

Employees working at Haneda Airport pose with robots to assist their work, yesterday. Japan Airport Terminal which manages Haneda Airport, yesterday, unveiled robots as part of the company’s Haneda Airport robot experiment project to assist workers at the airport.

AIrport robots

PAGE | 23PAGE | 22Minister co-chairs

Qatar-Argentina joint meeting

QP honours Qatari graduates who joined its ranks

Dow & Brent before going to press

Qatar committed to rule of law, says MinisterThe Peninsula

The Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jas-sim Al Thani yesterday confirmed that Qatar

will remain committed to all its bilateral and multilateral trade agreements to all its trading part-ners, including the siege countries which have violated Qatar’s as well as its other trad-ing partners’ rights undermining the principles and regulations of the World Trade Organizations (WTO).

On the sidelines of the WTO’s 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Minister also met WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo and discussed with him the main top-ics on the agenda of the conference. The director general praised the effective role of Qatar’s delegation at the WTO. In addition, the Minister dis-cussed the latest developments regarding the case filed against the siege countries at WTO’s Dis-pute Settlement Body (DSB), stressing the full commitment of Qatar to the rule of law in order

to protect its rights in line with WTO pr inc ip les and regulations.

While addressing at the WTO’s 11th Ministerial, the Min-ister reaffirmed Qatar’s full commitment to the rule of law to protect its rights in compliance with the WTO rules, in parallel with its commitment to success-fully complete the remaining

factors of the Doha Development Agenda within the framework of the principles of openness and universality advocated by the WTO, which allow members to discuss all matters relating to the multilateral trading system.

Sheikh Ahmed noted that Qatar has always advocated for the establishment of a compre-hensive and multilateral trading system as trade is an integral part of Qatar’s history.

He also noted that the signif-icant increase in protectionism, which is endorsed by many countries, is becoming a grow-ing concern. He also emphasised that a number of studies show that 60 of the biggest economies in the world have endorsed more than 7,000 trade protectionism procedure since the beginning of the financial crisis, whereas the tariffs now are worth more than $400bn.

The Minister, who also chaired the Qatari delegation to the conference, said Qatar came to the forefront of countries fac-ing the rising increase of protectionism procedure.

He referred to the achieve-ments made by WTO to

strengthen development and multilateral trade, especially with launching the Doha Devel-opment Agenda, which is one of its greatest achievements. The minister also referred to Qatar’s full commitment to successfully complete the agenda within the framework of the principles of openness and universality

advocated by the WTO, which allow members to discuss all matters relating to the multilat-eral trading system.

Sheikh Ahmed said the DSB of WTO approved Qatar’s request to form a judiciary to look into its complaint against the UAE and the current dispute caused by the siege.

He highlighted the impor-tance of completing the factors of the Doha Development Agenda, and called on expand-ing its framework to cover other topics such as SMEs, e-com-merce and facilitating investment.

Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani addressing the WTO’s 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday.

WTO conferenceWTO’s Dispute Settlement Body approved Qatar’s request to form a judiciary to look into its complaint against the UAE and the current dispute caused by the siege.

Qatar has always advocated for the establishment of a comprehensive and multilateral trading system as trade is an integral part of Qatar’s history.

→ Continued on page 23

Ministry demands QR68.97m from QNCCSatish Kanady The Peninsula

The Ministry of Municipal-ity and Environment (MME) has slapped a law

suit on Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) demanding an

amount of QR68.97m in connec-tion with the extraction of raw materials. These raw materials were used in the cement indus-try during the period 2008-2011.

QNCC, in a regulatory filing to Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE),

yesterday clarified that it extracted the raw materials from within the permissible area that was granted to the com-pany. The company said it would approach the competent court and challenge the MME’s order.

Maintaining banking stability key achievement of 2017: QCB The Peninsula

Maintaining financial and banking stability and keeping exchange rate

of Qatari riyal stable were the two key achievements of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) during this year, QCB Governor H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani (pic-tured) stated yesterday.

In a statement issued yes-terday, on the occasion of Qatar National Day celebrations, the central bank governor said QCB has made a number of achieve-ments including the regulation and supervision of financial institutions, and updating the comprehensive framework of Basel Committee’s decisions on capital adequacy in accordance with Basel 3. It also issued a comprehensive guide to corpo-rate governance for banks, which included governance guidelines to comply with the best international practices issued by the Basel Committee. Furthermore, the bank issued the guidelines on corporate gov-ernance for f inancial institutions, which included the general framework, rules, reg-ulations and comprehensive procedures that will enable

insurance companies to exer-cise their activities.

Sheikh Abdullah said that Qatar has handled the siege with the highest level of efficiency, adding that Qatar has succeeded in breaking the air, sea and land siege imposed on it through tak-ing quick and wise measures.

The QCB’s law stipulates that it will work in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and relevant government agencies to achieve the general economic and development policy of the state in a manner that does not contradict with its objectives of maintaining the stability of the exchange rate of the Qatari riyal, making it transferable to other currencies, and the stability of prices of goods and services and

financial and banking system.QCB also inaugurated the

digital credit report service for individuals project, which is considered one of the most important tools of credit analy-sis in banking sector as it helps in deciding the granting of credit and contributes to reducing the credit risk in the banking sec-tor. Qatar Credit Bureau received the certificate of the International Organization for Standardization for quality management system.

Qatar Central Bank has also developed an information secu-rity strategy for the financial sector in the country through encrypting the databases and updating the servers of the national payment gateway and associated security standards.

Sheikh Abdullah affirmed that the State of Qatar’s National Day is a celebration and a reminder to young generations of the work and the sacrifices made by founding generations of the state to achieve Qatar national unity. He added that the National Day also represents an opportunity for the young generations to learn about Qatar’s heritage and to promote pride in parents and ancestors.

$57.21 $57.21 -0.78-0.78

BRENT7,500.41

+46.93 PTS0.63%

8,033.28+110.21 PTS

1.39 %

24,535.95+149.92 PTS

0.61%FTSE100QE DOW

22 WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017BUSINESS

Indian film Star Srimurali inaugurates Malabar Gold & Diamonds 197th global showroom in Vijayapura (Bijapur), Karnataka, India on December 9, in the presence of Asher O, Managing Director – India Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds; Iflu Rahman, Regional Head, Malabar Gold & Diamonds; management team members of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, media & well-wishers. This is the 20th showroom of Malabar Gold & Diamonds in Southern Indian state of Karnataka.

Malabar Gold new showroom inauguration

QP honours Qatari graduates who joined its ranksThe Peninsula

Qatar Petroleum recently honoured a new group of Qatari nationals who have successfully com-

pleted their academic studies and training programmes under QP’s scholarship programme, and who have joined its ranks.

The 172 honourees special-ised in 25 different disciplines graduated from distinguished universities in Qatar, France, the USA, and the UK.

Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Pres-ident and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, congratulated the graduates on their success and welcomed them to Qatar Petro-leum saying “Qatar Petroleum’s policy has always placed Qataris at the top of its priorities in edu-cat ion, training, and development. We have also given our nationals the opportunity to gain the practical experience they need to progress profes-sionally and to serve our corporation and our beloved country Qatar. In this respect, I

would like to highlight that despite our recent optimisation, we have not reduced our invest-ment in people, their education,

and their training because our success is directly linked to the competency of our human capital.”

Al Kaabi highlighted the changes Qatar Petroleum has witnessed during the past three years, including its organisation structure and the way it oper-ates, which depends on a distinguished group of young as well as experienced Qataris who have reached where they are through hard work and dedica-tion. He also reviewed major landmarks during that important

period which included the deci-sion to raise Qatar LNG production to 100 million tons per year, its international expan-sion, and the focused effort to become the world’s best national oil & gas company.

Qatar Petroleum’s President & CEO concluded his remarks by expressing his optimism for the future of the new graduates stressing the importance of pro-fessional commitment as a way of life, which can ensure that one of them will become in the future the President and CEO of Qatar

Petroleum and will welcome new graduates to QP.

At the end of the ceremony, Al Kaabi gave away certificates of appreciation to all graduates, along with symbolic gifts for out-standing graduates in their fields of specialisation.

The ceremony, which was organised by the Learning and Development Department at Qatar Petroleum, included a film in which a number of graduates talked about the reasons for join-ing Qatar Petroleum and their ambition for the future.

172 candidatesThe 172 honourees specialised in 25 different disciplines graduated from distinguished universities in Qatar, France, the USA, and the UK.

KPMG listed in Consulting magazine ‘Best Firms to Work For’The Peninsula

For the third straight year, KPMG has been named in Consulting magazine’s list

of “Best Firms to Work For.” For 2017, the global network of independent audit, tax and advi-sory firms which employs over 270 people in Qatar, jumped six spots to No. 7 – the highest rank-ing of the Big Four professional services firms - and excelled in the areas of culture and career development.

“In recent years, Qatar’s businesses and organisations have seen tremendous oppor-tunities to grow, and develop for their own and the country’s ben-efit. I am immensely proud of how our professionals at KPMG in Qatar have helped clients suc-ceed and grow in this continually evolving market,” said Ahmed Abu Sharkh (pic-tured), Country Senior Partner for KPMG in Qatar.

“In addition to our service

offerings and capabilities, ulti-mately what makes the difference to our clients is their experience when they work with exceptional people. Receiv-ing this award reflects our ongoing commitment to ensur-ing that our firm is a great place to work for our people, enabling them to perform at their best when working with clients.”

The prestigious ranking is based on Consulting’s annual survey of more than 10,000 consultants from over 300 firms. Reaching new heights on the

Consulting list adds to recent accolades for KPMG this year, including attaining the 12th spot on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, earn-ing the highest ranking of the Big Four professional services firms, Diversity Inc.’s Top 50 Compa-nies for Diversity, and being named to the Vault Consulting 50.

“Being a ‘Best Firm to Work For’ validates what we and our clients have known for years – that we place significant priority on our developing our people and strive to create a culture of innovation and inclusion – par-ticularly important when we have nearly 30 different nation-alities working in our Qatar office,” said Abu Sharkh.

“When employees are engaged and enjoy working for KPMG, they carry out their duties with pride and maximum effort and our clients recognize this in the quality of our work,” he added

S Korean startup team visits Digital Incubation CenterThe Peninsula

Seeking potential partner-ships and cooperation in the field of entrepreneur-

ship and technology-based startups with their Qatari peers, a delegation from the Korea Startups Association (KStA) paid a visit to the Digital Incubation Center (DIC) at the Ministry of T r a n s p o r t a n d Communications.

The delegation included CEOs and founders of over ten South Korean startups, some of which are already operating in the South Korean market and abroad.

Others are still in the phase of building and developing their ideas. The visit was conducted in collaboration with the Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC).

Among the visiting startups, which provide smart solutions and applications for multiple sectors in South Korea and beyond such as infrastructure, healthcare, customer service, e-commerce, business and con-tact centers, are MINDs Lab, Monorama, paybot, pyundoori and Happy Moonday.

Duha Al Buhendi, Digital Incubation Center Manager, and her team introduced the visit-ing Korean team to the DIC with

presentations and briefings on DIC history, activities, vision and mission and the services provided to young entrepre-neurs in Qatar.

She also explained some of the smart solutions and appli-cations provided by the startups incubated at the DIC.

“In association with QBIC, we are delighted to welcome the South Korean team here at DIC. This is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and startups in Qatar to meet with their peers from South Korea; to talk, e x c h a n g e e x p e r t i s e

and benefit from shared expe-riences, as well as learning about their successes and chal-lenges while exploring the contribution start-ups to boost-ing the digital economy in both countries,” said Al Buhendi.

She added that the DIC under the umbrella of the Min-istry of Transport and Communications “places great attention on hosting, commu-nicating and networking with entrepreneurs and startup companies from other coun-tries in order to bring Qatari entrepreneurs together with

t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s worldwide.”

The exchange of expertise and highlighting innovative ideas and solutions also encourages future cooperation and partnership, she noted.

Founded in 2011, DIC offers expertise and professional guidance in the fields of tech-nology and business.

Services include access to space, business planning, edu-cat ion and tra ining , mentorship, and legal advice throughout the phases of the start-up development.

Officials of Digital Incubation Center at the Ministry of Transport and Communication, with members of visiting delegation of Korea Startups Association (KStA), at DIC premises.

British inflation soars to six-year highLondon AFP

British inflation has hit its highest level in almost six years, official data

showed yesterday, forcing Bank of England governor Mark Car-ney to explain the rise in an exceptional letter.

The Consumer Price Index climbed to 3.1 percent on a 12-month basis in November compared to 3.0 percent in October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a state-ment. Analysts’ consensus forecast had been for no change to the CPI reading.

Carney must send a letter to British finance minister Philip Hammond, explaining why inflation overshot the BoE’s 2.0-percent target rate by more than one percentage point. The open letter, which must outline what action the BoE’s Monetary Policy Commit-tee is taking to return inflation to target, will be published by the bank in February.

Such a letter was last pub-lished a year ago, after inflation fell by more than one percent-age point below target in

October 2016. The headline measure for November this year was spurred on by the high price of air fares, recreational goods and the rising cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks, the ONS said.

It said that rising prices of computer games had a notable upward effect and higher trans-port prices were fuelled by the rise in Brent oil prices and a falling pound.

“Christmas dinner is going to be a lot more expensive this year,” said Frances O’Grady, head of the TUC umbrella body for unions. “Food prices have gone up at twice the rate of wages.”

Average wage growth con-tinues to lag behind the rise in prices, meaning that real pay packets are falling. Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mel Stride said she recognised fam-ilies were “feeling the squeeze”.

Last month, the Bank of England increased its main interest rate for the first time since before the financial cri-sis, in a bid to tackle high inflation caused largely by the pound falling in the wake of Britain’s vote for Brexit.

Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and other senior officials with Qatari graduates who were honoured by QP.

23WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017 BUSINESS

Qatar committed to rule of law, says Minister Minister of Economy and

Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani confirmed that discussion within the framework of the WTO would help to restore the balance required to complete the agenda.

About the procedure of facilitating investment, the Min-ister said that policies of stimulating investments are able to promote economic developments in countries and support its ability to export and integrate into global value chains and connect to the dig-ital economy system.

He said that since Qatar is a member in Friends of Invest-ment Facil i tat ion for Development (FIFD), he encour-aged holding organised discussions on the facilitation of investment in the WTO.

He also highlighted the sig-nificance of commerce, e-commerce, and international market access for progress of developing countries.

Qatar also submitted a joint proposal with Turkey to support the Syrian refugees. This pro-posal provides for the granting of customs exemptions to the products of Syrian refugees in case of exportation to the WTO member states.

Qatar also participated in the drafting of a joint statement by the Group of Friends of System,

which stresses the importance of adherence to the global mul-tilateral trading system, the role of trade in sustainable develop-ment as well as the importance of developing countries and least developed countries benefiting from the opportunities offered by the multilateral trading system.

Sheikh Ahmed participated in the ministerial working breakfast meeting organised by the Group of FIFD, on the side-lines of the Ministerial Conference.

During the meeting, the Min-ister reviewed the topics on the agenda of the ministerial con-ference and discussed ways of progress in facilitating invest-ment. Also, views and proposals were exchanged during the meeting on best practices that could be utilised to facilitate investment measures to meet the needs of developing and least developed countries.

Steps were also identified to move forward in discussing ways to facilitate investment and to encourage more WTO mem-bers to join the initiative launched earlier by the group of FIFD, including the convening of more high-level regional forums, such as the Abuja Forum in Nigeria, as well as plans for an investment facilitation programme.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the participating min-isters signed a joint statement

that included a number of items on the importance of the pro-posals that were put forward and the role they will play in sup-porting the global economy and achieving the desired develop-ment and its suitability to the objectives of WTO.

These items included recog-nition of the dynamic relationship between invest-ment, trade, and development within the global economy and the need for close international cooperation to create a more transparent and efficient envi-ronment for facilitating cross-border investment. The initiative also received the sup-port of 66 WTO member states.

Members pledged to engage with developing and least devel-oped WTO members’ countries by organising events and activ-ities that stimulate investment.

The WTO’s FIFD had launched early this year its ini-tiative to hold a series of unofficial talks on the facilita-tion of investment for development, allowing members to discuss the increasing associ-ation between trade and investment and exerted efforts to facilitate investment.

In light of this initiative, more than 80 WTO members participated in six informal dis-cussions and three workshops, during which they exchanged views and experiences on the best adopted practices in the field of investment facilitation.

The Minister also held a bilateral meeting with Susana Malcorra, president of the WTO Ministerial Conference (who is a former Argentinean foreign minister) during which they exchanged views on the issues on the agenda of the conference.

In addition, Sheikh Ahmed met on the sidelines of the con-ference with a number of trade ministers participating in the ministerial conference. During these meetings, he discussed bilateral relations between Qatar and these countries and means of enhancing them.

He also coordinated posi-tions regarding issues at the disposal of WTO and reviewed the violations that the siege countries made to their WTO obligations and the legal proce-dures undertaken by Qatar within the framework of WTO, besides the latest developments in this regard in the framework of coordination of positions before DSB.

The WTO Ministerial Con-ference brings together ministers of commerce of member states and is the highest WTO author-ity for decisions that are unanimously adopted. The meeting, which will conclude today in Buenos Aires. President of Argentina Mauricio Macri attended the opening ceremony along with presidents of Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, and Azevedo.

Minister co-chairs Qatar-Argentina joint meetingThe Peninsula

The Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jas-sim Al Thani and the Secretary for Interna-

tional Economic Relations of Argentina Horacio Reyser Travers co-chaired the first ses-sion of the joint meeting of Qatari-Argentine Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation.

The meeting was held yes-terday in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital. They discussed ways of expanding cooperation in new fields to boost bilateral trade.

The trade volume between Qatar and Argentina stood at $192.5m in 2016, which is expected to witnessed significant increase in the coming years as a result of growing economic ties.

Sheikh Ahmed said that the meeting of the Qatari-Argentine joint committee is an important opportunity to complete the achievements reached during Qatar-Argentina Business and Investment Forum held last year in Doha and reflects the keen-ness of the two countries to consolidate the bonds of coop-eration and implement their common objectives.

In the context of the joint cooperation between Qatar and

Argentina, the Minister stressed that the friendly relations between the two countries since the mid-seventies of the last cen-tury have contributed to the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in all fields, especially at the economic, trade and investment levels.

The Minister praised the important role of the agreements and memorandums of under-standing signed between Qatar and Argentina, notably the Agreement on the Mutual Pro-motion and Protection of Investments signed last year, adding that Qatar views Argen-tina as an important investment and commercial partner in light of the economic potential of the two countries which will put a number of vital sectors on the map of joint cooperation during the next phase, especially the

agriculture, industry, energy, transport, infrastructure and tourism sectors.

He expressed hope for fur-ther activating the relations between the private sector and businessmen from both sides, enabling them to play a bigger role, and entering into invest-ment partnerships that would enhance economic and invest-ment cooperation between the two friendly countries.

He also reviewed the advan-tages of the Qatari economy, stressing that the country has adopted clear economic policies.

He noted that Qatar has enacted laws and regulations that have strengthened the con-tribution of the private sector to the Qatari economy and have provided an attractive invest-ment environment for various economic and commercial projects, indicating that these laws and regulations allow for-eign investors to participate in all economic activities in Qatar by owning 49 percent of the invested capital, and that this percentage can rise to 100 per-cent in certain areas such as agriculture, industry, health, education, tourism, and others.

HE stressed that Qatar has developed economic and indus-trial zones to serve all investors’ needs, provided a network of

highways linking the main areas of the country, launched a single window system for investor serv-ices and provided important investment incentives through the QFC and QSTP.

The two sides reviewed cooperation ties in the different fields, including economy, trade, investment, energy and gas projects, SMEs, agriculture and transportation. They agreed to take the necessary steps to pro-mote and develop economic relations with the aim of increas-ing the volume of trade exchange

between them and facilitating the flow of goods and investments between the two countries.

In addition, the two sides agreed to accelerate the ratifica-tion of an agreement on the protection and promotion of mutual investments and enforc-ing it as soon as possible. They also agreed on the need to con-clude the signing of the agreement on avoidance of dou-ble taxation, and the need to increase communication between the private sector on both sides by the establishment

of the Qatari-Argentine business council. At the end of the session, Sheikh Ahmed and Travers signed the minutes of the meeting.

The Minister had held a bilat-eral meeting with Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie, during which Sheikh Ahmed reviewed the results of the meet-ing of the Qatari-Argentine joint committee and means of enhanc-ing trade and investment exchange as well as bilateral relations and ways of develop-ing them.

The Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani (third right) co-chairing the first session of the joint meeting of Qatari-Argentine Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday.

Trade volumeThe trade volume between Qatar and Argentina stood at $192.5m in 2016, which is expected to witnessed significant increase in the coming years as a result of growing economic ties.

→ Continued from page 21

QC hails ‘pro-private sector 2018 budget’

The Peninsula

Chairman of Qatar Cham-ber Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al

Thani (pictured) has hailed Qatar’s pro-private sector 2018 budget proposals.

Responding to the budget proposals, he noted that the budget for the new fiascal has set aside significant fund for supporting food security projects, expanding small and medium industries and devel-oping infrastructure in the economic and free zones, giv-ing the private sector a wider opportunity to play a bigger role in the projects put forward by the State.

The 2018 budget boosts expenditure on major projects by allocating 45.8 percent of the total budget expenditure to total about QR 93bn, almost the same level as in 2017.

The allocation of this large percentage of the new budget confirms the direction of the state towards the completion of major projects in the main sectors, along with those related to 2022 FIFA World Cup., as per the original schedule.

Qatar Chamber Chairman noted that the State continues to boost public expenditure on the main sectors, including edu-c a t i o n , h e a l t h a n d infrastructure, by allocating QR83.5bn for these sectors,

representing 41 percent of the total expenditure in the 2017 budget, reflecting the State’s keenness on the interests of Qatari citizens through upgrad-ing education and health services.

He expected the new budget to play an important role in moving the economic process in the coming period, especially as it involves the signing of new projects con-tracts worth a total of QR29bn, which promotes growth in non-oil sectors.

He noted that the budget supports the plans and direc-tions of the State to continue the process of sustainable devel-opment with a focus on the implementation of key projects, especially those associated with hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The budget also reveals the sound financial plans adopted by the government in dealing with fluctuations in international oil prices, as it assumes the conservative oil price of $45 per barrel.

The QC Chairman affirmed the strength of the Qatari econ-omy and its rapid developments thanks to the wise vision of the leadership which enabled the Qatari economy to achieve growth rates that made it one of the fastest growing econo-mies in the world. He underlined that the continued expenditure on infrastructure projects and the completion of major projects included in the national development strategy reflects the State’s interest in spending on this vital sector, which establishes for a modern state in various fields.

The State continues to boost public expenditure on the main sectors, including education, health and infrastructure, by allocating QR83.5bn for these sectors, representing 41 percent of the total expenditure in the 2017 budget, reflecting the State’s keenness on the interests of Qatari citizens.

WB to stop financing oil, gas from 2019Paris AFP

The World Bank will stop financing oil and gas exploration and extraction

from 2019, it announced Tues-day at a climate summit seeking to boost the global economy’s shift to clean energy.

“The World Bank Group will no longer finance upstream oil and gas, after 2019,” it said in a statement in Paris, where world leaders sought to unlock more money for the shift away from Earth-warming fossil fuels.

The move, it said, was meant to help countries meet the greenhouse gas-curbing pledges

they had made in support of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming.

“In exceptional circum-stances, consideration will be given to financing upstream gas in the poorest countries where there is a clear benefit in terms of energy access for the poor and the project fits within the countries’ Paris Agreement commitments,” the statement said. The bank also announced it was “on track to meet its tar-get of 28 percent of its lending going to climate action by 2020.”The World Bank’s man-date is to provide finance and other assistance to aid the eco-nomic advancement of

developing countries.It co-sponsored the one-day

summit called by French Pres-ident Emmanuel Macron to find ways to unlock the money needed for the global economy’s costly shift away from fossil fuels to less-polluting energy sources, and to shore up coun-tries’ defences against climate-change induced weather disasters.

Trillions of dollars must be invested in clean energy tech-nology to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting average global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, experts say.

TAV airports interested in Sabiha Gokcen AirportIstanbul Reuters

Turkish airport operator TAV Havalimanlari is interested in the sale of a

stake in Istanbul’s Sabiha Gok-cen Airport, planned in the first quarter of 2018, its chief exec-utive Sani Sener told Reuters. Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Istanbul, Sener said the company is working on new investment opportunities abroad, including Kyrgyzstan.

Canada’s Finance Minister Bill Morneau (right) looks on as Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa speaks during a news conference following a meeting between federal, provincial and territorial finance ministers in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Canada Finance Ministry meetingUS, EU & Japan to join forces on Chinese excess capacityBuenos Aires Reuters

The United States, Euro-pean Union and Japan are expected to announce a joint effort aimed at con-

fronting China over its excess industrial capacity and other trade practices, a source close to the discussions said.

Trade officials from the two countries and the EU will make a joint statement on the side-lines of the World Trade Organization ministerial meet-ing in Buenos Aires, aligning to address the overcapacity issue, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because talks on the issue were continuing.

It was unclear whether China would be specifically named in the statement.

Washington, Brussels and Tokyo have raised complaints about China’s subsidies to state-owned enterprises, state financing and investment rules that often force foreign firms to transfer strategic technologies. They argue that such distortions have fueled rampant overca-pacity in key industries such as steel and aluminum that are flooding global markets and forcing layoffs elsewhere.

The United States has sided with the EU in arguing that the WTO should not grant China

market economy status, a move that would severely weaken Western trade defenses.

On Monday, Japanese Trade and Economy Minister Hiro-shige Seko voiced support for efforts to strengthen WTO transparency and reporting standards - a US initiative largely aimed at exposing ille-gal Chinese subsidies.

“Free trade only works when we secure fair conditions for competition,” Seko said in remarks to WTO colleagues. “Fair market conditions must

not be negatively affected by measures such as market-dis-torting subsidies, forced technology transfer, infringe-ment of intellectual property rights and unfair trade practices by state-owned enterprises.”

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in remarks to colleagues, said some mem-bers were “intentionally circumventing” their obliga-tions and seeking unfair concessions through litigation, causing the WTO to lose its trade negotiation focus.

The Financial Times reported that the joint statement would also target China’s intel-lectual property practices, including requirements that require firms turn technology over to local joint-venture partners.

The Trump administration is investigating Chinese intellec-tual property practices, which could lead to unilateral trade retaliation under a US trade law that predates the WTO’s crea-tion in 1995. The administration is also considering broad import restrictions on steel and alumi-num on national security grounds under a Cold War-era trade law.

EU member countries including as Germany have threatened retaliation against any US steel tariffs and have urged Washington against such unilateral actions.

‘Market economy’China’s subsidies to state-owned enterprises, state financing and investment rules that often force foreign firms to transfer strategic technologies.

The United States has sided with the EU in arguing that the WTO should not grant China ‘market economy’ status, a move that would severely weaken Western trade defenses. Bombardier

signs $724mUK train dealBOMBARDIER Inc’s rail unit said yesterday it signed a $724m contract to sell 333 of its electric Aventra trains to be used by British rail oper-ator West Midlands.

Under the deal, Bombar-dier will sell and maintain three-car trains for metro services and five-car trains for outer suburban and long distances.

EU summit set to unlock next phase of Brexit talksBrussels AFP

European Union leaders are set to open the next phase of Brexit talks at a summit

this week, but may toughen their conditions after Britain cast doubt on whether a deal on divorce terms is binding.

British premier Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker reached a last-minute agreement Friday regarding the Irish border, Brit-ain’s divorce bill and the rights of EU migrants.

The leaders of the 27 remaining countries are to decide on Friday whether to approve that deal and green light the opening of talks on a post-Brexit transition period and the bloc’s future relationship with Britain.

But they have been alarmed

by comments by Britain’s Brexit Minister David Davis in which he said that Britain would not pay the bill without a trade agreement, and that Friday’s deal was a “statement of intent” r a t h e r t h a n “ l e g a l l y enforceable.”

European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said Davis’s comments were “unacceptable” and a self-inflicted “own goal” for Britain as the EU would now take a tougher stance.

“I have seen a hardening of the position of the council (of EU leaders) and hardening position of the parliament,” Verhofstadt told reporters at the parliament in Strasbourg, France yesterday.

The European Parliament is set to back in a vote today the opening of the second phase of Brexit talks. MEPs will also have

a final say on any Brexit deal in 2019.

With the possibility of a Brit-ish backtrack in mind, the EU negotiating guidelines that lead-ers are set to adopt on Friday will say phase two talks can only start once the divorce commit-ments are “translated faithfully in legal terms.”

The EU leaders will also say that talks on trade will not start until March, to give the British government time to provide “further clarity” on what it wants from the future relationship.

Britain has said it will leave the EU’s single market and cus-toms union but has given no hint of a wider plan, with May’s cab-inet only having its first meeting on the subject next week -- a full year and a half after the June 2016 Brexit referendum.

The EU guidelines will add that talks on the transition -- a period of around two years dur-ing which the bloc says Britain will have to follow EU law -- cannot start until January.

The clock is ticking, as the EU says an outline deal needs to be in place by October 2018, so that the British and EU parlia-ments can approve it by the time Britain leaves the bloc on March 29, 2019.

EU President Donald Tusk warned last week after the divorce deal that “the most dif-ficult challenge is still ahead”.

T h e E U l e a d e r s ,

again without Britain, will also on Friday discuss ways to reform the euro single currency, a top priority of French President Emmanuel Macron as well as Juncker.

In a draft of the “leader’s agenda” to prepare the summit, Tusk said there was broad con-vergence among the heads of state on creating a crisis-fight-ing European Monetary Fund, as well as forging ahead with the banking union.

But Macron’s ambitions have been stymied by political uncer-tainty in Germany, where a weakened Chancellor Angela Merkel is still trying to form a government.

Germany is especially reti-cent to reforming EU public spending rules or setting up a European-wide deposit insur-ance scheme, the last remaining pillar of the banking union.

An ambition to create a European finance minister or a eurozone budget has also failed to gain traction, dealing a disap-pointment to Macron, while there is also debate about how who should control the mone-tary fund.

The leaders will only debate reforms at the Friday summit, with a further discussion in June set to decide next steps.

On the first day of the din-ner tomorrow the leaders, together with Britain, will dis-cuss reforming the bloc’s asylum system, particularly quotas for member states to accept refu-gees, which Tusk called “highly divisive”. The leaders will also have a signing ceremony to mark the launch of a landmark pact on boosting military coop-eration -- an agreement that had for years been held up by Brit-ish opposition.

French property giant to buy Westfield in record bid

Cboe chief urges bitcoin critics to bet their skepticsm in marketNew YorkAFP

The head of the first main-stream exchange to allow trading in bitcoin

futures on Monday called on critics of the virtual currency to express their skepticism in the market.

“Whether it’s a fraud, whether it’s a bubble, whether it’s legitimate... you will be able to express all of those thoughts in a transparent mar-ket place,” Cboe chief Ed Tilly told AFP just hours after launching bitcoin futures trading.

His Chicago-based mar-ketplace became the first mainstream exchange in the world to allow trading on the controversial cryptocurrency with sales that kicked off Sun-day night, and saw bitcoin continue its surge, blowing past $18,000, and saw Cboe halt trading twice due to the volatility.

The Cboe launch lends legitimacy to an asset that until now had traded only on alternative digital platforms that are completely unregu-lated. And the debut is expected to be followed later this month by the rival Chi-cago Mercantile Exchange.

But several major banks sat out the dramatic first day refrained from serving as intermediaries to trades, including JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale, Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill

Lynch. The financial heavy-weights have kept their distance amid fears clients could sustain deep losses due to major swings in the value of bitcoin.

The Cboe launch, while largely uneventful, once again showcased the asset’s pen-chant for volatility as the exchange was forced to sus-pend trading twice due to major price swings.

But Tilly said that mean the exchange was operating as intended.

The exchange set a policy requiring such halts due to major price moves, for exam-ple requiring a five-minute suspension due to a 20 per-cent move.

“So we hit those barriers on price movements and we did halt according to plans,” Tilly said. “All things operated as they should.”

Near 1915 GMT, bitcoin futures for January delivery were at $17,920, down from an earlier high of $18,850, but well above the opening price of $15,000.

Tilly’s message to large banks that stayed on the side-lines is “trust us.”

“Let us work this through,” he said. “You will see the mar-ket built in the days, weeks and months to come.”

In time, the large banks will develop the “comfort to open this up to more of their customers who are certainly looking to satisfy the demand for exposure to cryptocurren-cies and certainly bitcoins.”

Britain has said it will leave the EU’s single market and customs union but has given no hint of a wider plan.

Sydney AFP

French property giant Uni-bail-Rodamco is to buy Australia’s Westfield shop-

ping mall operator, the two groups said yesterday, in what would be the biggest-ever cor-porate takeover in Australia.

The deal values Westfield at $24.7bn and would create “a glo-bal property leader”, they said in a statement.

The future combined port-folio of the merged companies would include key centres like Westfield London, Westfield World Trade Center in New York, Les Quatre Temps near Paris and the Forum des Halles in the heart of the French capital.

The agreement would “cre-ate the world’s premier developer and operator of flag-ship shopping destinations”, they said.

Yesterday’s announcement comes as mall operators embark on a consolidation drive as they f a c e i n c r e a s i n g l y

tough competition from online shopping sites such as Amazon, which this month launched in Australia.

Westfield’s share price is down about 10 percent in 2017.

“The acquisition of Westfield is a natural extension of Unibail-Rodamco’s strategy of concentration, differentiation and innovation,” said Christo-phe Cuvillier (pictured), chief execut ive of f icer of

Unibail-Rodamco. “It adds a number of new

attractive retail markets in Lon-don and the wealthiest catchment areas in the United States.

“We believe that this trans-action represents a compelling opportunity for both companies to realise benefits not available to each company on a stan-dalone basis, and creates a strong and attractive platform for future growth.”

The statement said the pro-posal had been “unanimously recommended by Westfield’s board of directors and Unibail-Rodamco’s supervisory board”.

Unibail-Rodamco is Europe’s largest commercial landlord and the purchase comes as it offloads smaller assets in Europe to focus on bigger shopping centres, which are likely to be better suited to fending off the march of e-commerce giants.

On the Paris stock exchange, where Unibail is listed on the benchmark CAC-40 index, its shares slipped 2,3 percent in morning deals to 218.90 euros.

Westfield chairman Frank Lowy, who launched the com-pany in 1960, said it was with “mixed emotions” that he was announcing the buyout but he was comfortable with the deci-sion, which means he and his two sons Peter and Steven moved from “being executives to being investors”.

“This transaction is in the best interests of shareholders,” he told reporters in Sydney via a televised conference from Milan. “That principle has guided my business decision-making since 1960 and it does so again with today’s announcement.”

Westfield embarked on a restructuring in 2014, spinning off its Australia and New Zea-land business from its international operations into a separate entity. The company on Tuesday said this had set it up for the Unibail deal.

An emotional Lowy said he and his sons will continue to serve in advisory roles to the new company, while his family will maintain a “substantial investment in the group”.

24 WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017BUSINESS

25WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017 BUSINESS

Global investors launch five-year climate initiative Paris AFP

A group of more than 200 global investors, including banking giant HSBC and French insurer AXA,

are following through on a promise to fight climate change by pressuring the biggest gas emitters on the issue.

Yesterday, a coalition of 237 companies announced the launch of “Climate Action 100+”, a five-year initiative aimed at engaging 100 of the world’s larg-est corporate greenhouse gas emitters to step up action on cli-mate change.

The plan will focus on three key measures: “to improve gov-ernance on climate change, curb emissions and strengthen cli-mate-related f inancial disclosures,” the press statement announcing the plan read.

French insurer Axa also announced yesterday it would speed up its move away from the carbon sector, divesting some ¤2.5bn ($2.9bn) from companies which derive more than 30 per-cent of their revenues from coal.

Among the companies tar-geted are large oil and gas companies such as BP, Chevron and Coal India, firms in the

transport sector like Airbus, Ford and Volkswagen, and mining and steel groups like ArcelorMittal, BHP Billiton and Glencore. The energy sector is responsible for three quarters of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.

“Moving 100 of the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters to align their business plans with the goals of the Paris Agreement will have consider-able ripple effects,” Anne

Simpson, Investment Director of Sustainability at CalPERS, said in a statement.

“Our collaborative engage-ments with the largest emitters will spur actions across all sec-tors as companies work to avoid being vulnerable to climate risk and left behind.”

During the five years, inves-tors will monitor companies on the list to see how closely they follow through with implement-ing the climate measures. They will be removed once enough progress has been made.

The 237 companies have a combined market capitalisation of over $6.3 trillion (¤5.3trillion), which includes 150 financial firms that are responsible for assets of over $81.7 trillion.

“Climate change is a mate-rial and systemic risk no long-term investor can afford to ignore,” said Stephanie Maier, director of HSBC’s Responsible Investment.

The announcement was made as French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting world leaders in Paris for talks two years to the day since the Paris agreement to curb climate change.

The meetings focus on mar-shalling public and private funds to speed the move to a low-car-

bon economy.In July, investors had urged

world governments to support and fully implement the agree-ment, saying that “the mitigation of climate change is essential for the safeguarding of our investments”.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday

called for stronger action in the fight against climate change, as he hosted world leaders for talks two years to the day since the Paris agreement. “We are very far from the goal of the Paris agreement of limiting the rise in temperatures to below a two-degree threshold,” he told Le Monde newspaper. “Without

much stronger mobilisation, a jolt to our means of production and development, we will not succeed,” he warned.

Macron’s comments came as leaders met in the French capi-tal to discuss the trillions of dollars of investment in clean energy needed if the climate deal is to stay on track.

US entrepreneur Bill Gates (left), US businessman Craig McCaw (second left), German economist Caio Koch-Weser (third left), US businessman and politician, Michael Bloomberg (second right) and British entrepreneur Richard Branson (right) pose as they arrive for a meeting with the French President yesterday ahead of the ‘One Planet Summit’.

Climate Action 100+Leaders met in the French capital to discuss the trillions of dollars of investment in clean energy needed if the climate deal is to stay on track.

A coalition of 237 companies announced the launch of “Climate Action 100+”, a five-year initiative aimed at engaging 100 of the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters to step up action on climate change.

US wholesale inflation at 5-year recordWashington AFP

Soaring gasoline prices drove US wholesale inflation higher in

November, with one meas-ure hitting its second straight five-year record, according to government data released yesterday.

However, other signs of price pressures were muted, with less volatile categories holding steady or slowing.

The Federal Reserve, which begins a two-day pol-icy meeting yesterday, is widely expected to raise benchmark interest rates this week despite internal disa-greements about the threat of inflation.

The Producer Price Index, which tracks changes in the costs of wholesale goods and services, rose 0.4 percent in November, which matched analyst expectations and was the same as in September and October. Excluding the more volatile food and fuel catego-ries, PPI rose 0.3 percent, the same increase recorded in the prior two months.

On a 12-month basis, the index gained 3.1 percent, its highest level January 2012, surpassing the five-year record set in October.

Analysts say there is gen-erally weak correlation between PPI and other more closely watched measures for consumer inflation, but it is watched as a sign of price pressures in the pipeline.

Last month’s PPI gain rise was driven largely by record wholesale costs for gasoline, which surged 15.8 percent, the largest one-month gain since August 2009.

Price gains for services, however, slowed from the previous month, with margins for machinery and equipment falling as much as 1.9 percent. Fed policymakers have been confessed to being baffled throughout much of 2017 by persistently weak inflation, especially in the face of fall-ing unemployment, but even so are expected to raise rates at this week’s meeting to keep ahead of expected price gains in 2018.

ANZ Bank sells life insurance arm to Zurich for $2.14bnSydney AFP

ANZ Bank unveiled plans to offload its life insurance arm to Zurich for

Aus$2.85bn ($2.14bn), making the Swiss giant Australia’s larg-est retail life insurer by premiums, yesterday.

It follows National Australia Bank selling most of its life insur-ance business to Japan’s Nippon and Commonwealth Bank shed-ding its insurance arm to AIA in recent years as Australia’s top lenders streamline operations.

ANZ said the sale of One Path Life Australia Holdings, subject to regulatory approvals, was another step in its strategy to create “a simpler, better bal-anced bank focused on retail and business banking in Australia and New Zealand”.

“From the outset we’ve been

focused on partnering with a high-quality organisation cultur-ally aligned to ANZ,” said ANZ’s Executive Wealth Australia chief Alexis George (pictured).

“We’re pleased we will be able to provide our customers with access to wealth products from one of the world’s leading and most respected global insurers.”

It described the deal as a good outcome for both custom-ers and shareholders, citing Zurich’s “commitment to inno-vation and strong presence in Australia”.

It follows ANZ’s sale of its OnePath pensions and invest-ments business to IOOF Holdings in October for Aus$975m.

The bank’s shares were 0.44 percent higher at Aus$28.62 in afternoon trade.

All of Australia’s big banks are battling higher funding costs

and lower interest margins, with rules now demanding they hold more reserves as a buffer against rising mortgage liabilities and fears over bad loans.

They also face a hefty new government levy to raise Aus$6.2bn over four years through a 0.06 percent charge on the borrowings of the big five

-- ANZ, Commonwealth, Mac-quarie, NAB and Westpac.

The Commonwealth sold its Australian and New Zealand life insurance business to AIA for $3bn in September, while NAB received $1.7bn from Nippon Life for an 80 percent stake in its insurance arm in 2015.

As part of the agreement, ANZ and Zurich will enter into a 20-year strategic alliance to offer life insurance solutions through ANZ’s distribution channels.

Following completion of the deal, funded through cash and debt and expected to be final-ised late next year, Zurich will be Australia’s largest retail life insurer as measured by in-force premiums, with more than 1.5 million customers, or 19 percent market share.

The deal comes on the heels of a string of Asia-Pacific

acquisitions by the Swiss firm, whose chief executive Mario Greco said it was a good fit for its growth strategy.“ANZ’s port-folio of non-traditional and profitable retail products fits well with Zurich’s strategy to focus on capital-light protection and unit-linked business,” he said.

Zurich’s Asia-Pacific head Jack Howell said the region was an important market for the company.

“Zurich has earmarked the Asia-Pacific region to be a major engine of growth in distribution and service capabilities, build-ing on our recent acquisitions of Macquarie’s retail life insurance business and the Cover-More Group,” he said.

“Importantly, we are acquir-ing a profitable business (ANZ’s life insurance) with loyal cus-tomers and a track record of strong, stable cash flows.”

IMF says Sudan must float currency to boost growth & investment Cairo Reuters

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Sudan to float its currency

to boost growth and investment, a measure the government has opposed even after the United States lifted 20 years of sanctions in October.

The government would need to accompany a market-deter-mined exchange rate with other tough reforms such as expand-ing the country’s tax base if Khartoum hopes to benefit from sanctions relief, the IMF said in a report published on Monday.

The Sudanese pound has weakened against the dollar since Washington lifted sanc-tions encouraging traders to step up imports, putting pressure on scarce hard currency.

It hit an all-time low of 27 pounds against the dollar on the black market in November but strengthened to 23 pounds per dollar after a raft of emergency measures that included capping currency transfers and cracking down on currency traders.

The IMF said the end of sanctions was an opportunity for Sudan to strengthen its eco-nomic outlook but it required a currency float.

“Fiscal policy should be tightened to eliminate the mon-etization of deficits, thus helping to reduce inflation and buttress macroeconomic stability,” it said. It projected GDP growth of 3.25 percent for 2017, down from 3.5 percent in 2016.

The weakened pound has contributed to surging inflation, which reached 33.08 percent year-on-year in October. The central bank has held the offi-cial exchange rate at 6.7 pounds to the dollar but currency is largely unavailable at that price.

“The tax base should be broadened, energy and wheat subsidies phased out and replaced by increased cash transfers to the poor, and capi-tal investment increased,” the IMF said.

Sudan’s external debt, which the IMF described as unsustain-able, is expected to reach $54.1bn in 2017 and $56.5bn in 2018, the report said.

Chinese automaker WM Motor’s founder and CEO Freeman Shen (left) and Vice-President of Strategic Planning, Lobo Lu attend the WM Motor brand launch event in Shanghai, China.

Facebook to book advertising revenue locallyBrussels Reuters

Social media giant Facebook said yesterday it would start booking advertising

revenue locally instead of re-routing it via its international headquarters in Dublin although the move is unlikely to result in it paying much more tax.

Corporate taxation has become a hot-button topic in the wake of revelations of tax avoid-ance schemes by multinationals which have led to calls for com-panies to pay more tax while Europe has begun exploring options for taxing digital giants.

Facebook Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said the company had decided to move

to a local selling structure in countries where it has an office to support sales to local adver-tisers. “In simple terms, this means that advertising revenue supported by our local teams will no longer be recorded by our international headquarters in Dublin, but will instead be recorded by our local company in that country,” Wehner said.

WM Motor brand launch

26 WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017BUSINESS

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

QE Index 8,033.28 1.39 %

QE Total Return Index 13,471.34 1.39 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,150.48 1.21 %

QE All Share Index 2,282.54 1.73 %

QE All Share Banks &

Financial Services 2,552.88 0.64 %

QE All Share Industrials 2,460.18 2.00 %

QE All Share Transportation 1,631.64 1.75 %

QE All Share Real Estate 1,696.43 4.47 %

QE All Share Insurance 3,175.54 3.89 %

QE All Share Telecoms 993.12 0.90 %

QE All Share Consumer

Goods & Services 4,573.16 0.54 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

11-12-2017Index 8,033.28

Change 110.21

% 1.39

YTD% 23.03

Volume 12,374,336

Value (QAR) 213,084,906.22

Trades 3,627

Up 32 | Down 09 | Unchanged 210-12-2017Index 7,923.07

Change 95.36

% 1.22

YTD% 24.08

Volume 6,814,418

Value (QAR) 172,135,879.37

Trades 3,570

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR146.0423 per grammeSILVER QR1.8555 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low

All Ordinaries 6093.1 11.2 0.18 6096.9 5794.9

Cac 40 Index/D 5395.38 8.55 0.16 5536.4 4733.82

Dj Indu Average 24386.03 56.87 0.23 24534.04 19677.94

Hang Seng Inde/D 28793.88 -171.41 -0.59 30199.69 21883.82

Iseq Overall/D 7010.24 -11.28 -0.16 7157.43 6369.05

Kse 100 Inx/D 38553.75 72.05 0.19 53127.24 38374.73

S&P 500 Index/D 2659.99 8.49 0.320196 2665.19 2245.13

Currency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 4.8233 QR 4.8903

Euro QR 4.2618 QR 4.3218

CA$ QR 2.8124 QR 2.8678

Swiss Fr QR 3.6547 QR 3.7056

Yen QR 0.03181 QR 0.03243

Aus$ QR 2.7306 QR 2.7843

Ind Re QR 0.0560 QR 0.0571

Pak Re QR 0.0328 QR 0.0338

Peso QR 0.0715 QR 0.0729

SL Re QR 0.0236 QR 0.0240

Taka QR 0.0435 QR 0.0444

Nep Re QR 0.0350 QR 0.0357

SA Rand QR 0.2654 QR 0.2707

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - A LIST OF SHARES FROM THE WORLD

A C C-A/D 1709.3 -25.85 9857

Aban Offs-A/D 205.75 14.45 1006799

Aegis Logis-A/D 271.45 -1.95 144111

Alembic-B/D 44.55 0.3 452190

Alkyl Amines-B/D 586 -0.7 1630

Alok Indus-T/D 3.19 -0.14 701490

Apollo Tyre-A/D 243.95 -2.6 75794

Asahi I Glass-/D 368 -5.2 2148

Ashok Leyland-/D 113.85 -4.2 889608

Ballarpur In-B/D 14.03 -0.38 461378

Banaras Bead-B/D 63.25 -0.85 11770

Bata India-A/D 717 -18.55 34834

Beml Ltd-A/D 1562.3 -26 27700

Bhansali Eng-B/D 170.25 -5.2 223588

Bharat Bijle-B/D 1061 -2.3 1683

Bharat Ele-A/D 181.35 -2.15 108804

Bharatgears-B/D 184 -1.9 6277

Bhartiya Int-B/D 529.85 -17.5 15444

Bhel-A/D 91.6 -0.1 362785

Bom.Burmah-X/D 1476.85 -31.15 19670

Bombay Dyeing-/D 234.8 -2.25 1298478

Camph.& All-X/D 1170 0.25 2360

Canfin Homes-A/D 467.4 -16.55 80378

Caprihans-X/D 116.35 0.75 7376

Castrol India-/D 405.1 1.45 184126

Century Enka-B/D 331.7 -3.55 2465

Century Text-A/D 1380.75 13.75 233242

Chambal Fert-B/D 143.1 -1.8 79920

Chola Invest-A/D 1275.7 -20.5 8263

Chowgule St-Xt/D 15.55 -0.75 12604

Cimmco-T/D 115.35 -4.55 7607

Cipla-A/D 590.75 -13.1 41545

City Union Bk-/D 178.4 -2.1 30736

Colgate-A/D 1067 -11.9 7855

Container Cor-/D 1295.1 -6.25 2844

Dai-X/D 356.5 -2.85 7962

Dcm Shram Ind-/D 323.4 -7.8 16905

Dhampur Sugar-/D 269.6 -5.3 20388

Dr. Reddy-A/D 2255.6 62.1 120634

E I H-B/D 145.55 1.55 28589

E.I.D Parry-A/D 360.5 -2.1 7192

Eicher Motor-A/D 28610.1 -632.7 1203

Electrosteel-B/D 33.6 1.5 391188

Emco-B/D 18.55 -1.75 111974

Escorts-A/D 674.3 -4 94756

Eveready Indu-/D 431.4 1.25 7666

F D C-B/D 211.5 1.45 5433

Federal Bank-A/D 106.75 -1.5 368691

Ferro Alloys-X/D 13.15 -0.65 84717

Fgp Ltd-Xt/D 1.54 0 1100

Finolex-A/D 648 15.75 9509

Forbes-B/D 2615 -52.35 2195

Gail-A/D 492.45 11.5 589202

Gammon India-T/D 6.1 0.05 40285

Garden P -B/D 37.25 -0.55 21124

Godfrey Phil-A/D 982 -16.25 4639

Goodricke-X/D 451.7 -19.3 36638

Goodyear I -B/D 870 -5.4 3831

Hcl Infosys-A/D 48.75 -0.85 694296

Him.Fut.Comm-B/D 29.45 -1.3 1928472

Himat Seide-X/D 354.85 -8.15 19046

Hind Motors-B/D 7.65 -0.14 61695

Hind Org Chem-/D 26.35 1.05 336426

Hind Unilever-/D 1315 -5.35 30026

Hind.Petrol-A/D 414.7 -17.2 177611

Hindalco-A/D 237.15 -0.85 1009893

Hous Dev Fin-A/D 1710.55 -0.35 44130

I F C I-A/D 23.55 -0.45 628626

Idbi-A/D 59.9 -0.7 315555

Ifb Ind.Ltd.-B/D 1297.5 -58.15 2037

India Cement-A/D 168.95 -3.25 130808

India Glycol-B/D 422.3 -3.05 90359

Indian Card-B/D 216.05 30.05 35243

Indian Hotel-A/D 120.7 0.45 85509

Indo-A/D 113.95 -0.45 52815

Indusind-A/D 1650 -22.1 13998

J.B.Chemical-B/D 297 -2.1 10011

Jagatjit Ind-X/D 76.05 1.05 17374

Jagson Phar-B/D 35.9 -1.2 18257

Jamnaauto-B/D 64.4 -2.15 446968

Jbf Indu-B/D 208.65 -9.25 21194

Jct Ltd-X/D 3.32 -0.12 489771

Jenson&Nich.-T/D 7.2 -0.06 6240

Jindal Drill-B/D 162.8 5.6 32650

Jktyre&Ind-A/D 136.35 -1.25 27021

Jmc Projects-B/D 618.15 31.85 48200

Kabra Extr-B/D 118 -3.95 67046

Kajaria Cer-A/D 700.95 -1.95 8975

Kakatiya Cem-B/D 387.5 -2.75 39973

Kalpat Power-B/D 439.1 7.65 15089

Kalyani Stel-B/D 369.5 -1 11235

Kanoria Chem-B/D 96.5 -3.45 30111

Kg Denim-X/D 61.5 -1.5 89735

Kilburnengg-X/D 81.5 -0.25 9885

Kinetic Eng-Xt/D 79.7 3.75 34642

Kopran-B/D 67.5 3.15 240401

Lakshmi Elec-X/D 740 -9.7 4722

Lakshmi Mach-A/D 5815 109.55 1040

Lloyd Metal-X/D 17.65 -0.2 64954

Lupin-A/D 845 7.3 143803

Lyka Labs-B/D 59.25 -0.1 20755

Mah.Seamless-B/D 475 -9.6 2588

Mangalam Cem-B/D 336.05 -7.75 2557

Maral Overs-B/D 42.25 1.3 16133

Mastek-B/D 387 -8.55 44757

Max Financial-/D 561.45 4.3 775123

Mrpl-A/D 120.85 -2.45 68847

Nagreeka Ex-T/D 47.5 -0.85 4435

Nagreeka Ex-T/D 47.5 -0.85 4435

Nahar Spg.-B/D 108 -0.65 5532

Nation Alum -A/D 77.15 -0.25 210192

Navneet Edu-B/D 160 1.45 7665

Neuland Lab-B/D 883.55 -23.55 3636

Nrb Bearings-B/D 150.05 1.25 41845

O N G C-A/D 182.95 4.05 597146

Oil Country-B/D 51.85 4.15 123560

Onward Tech-B/D 140.1 3.25 31501

Orchid Pharm-T/D 17.45 -0.25 49537

Orient Hotel-B/D 38.8 0.35 9451

Patspin India-/D 29.45 -0.55 7533

Punjab Chem.-X/D 455 -2.55 15185

Radico Khait-B/D 270.5 1.25 220138

Rallis India-A/D 235 -0.8 27455

Rallis India-A/D 235 -0.8 27455

Reliance Indus/D 525.45 1.75 195396

Ruchi Soya-B/D 19.15 -0.3 539808

Salora Inber-T/D 56.4 1.3 2918

Saur.Cem-X/D 82.2 -0.7 16548

Sterling Tool-/D 432.15 -11.15 5343

Tanfac Indu-Xt/D 138.45 2.65 60800

Tanfac Indu-Xt/D 138.45 2.65 60800

Thirumalai-B/D 2133.15 -3.55 19333

Til Ltd.-B/D 544.1 7.5 1967

Tinplate-B/D 256.3 -1.85 237620

Ucal Fuel-B/D 250.25 15.05 396760

Ucal Fuel-B/D 250.25 15.05 396760

Ultramarine-X/D 286.9 -4.9 7658

Unitech P -A/D 7.69 -0.37 13117836

Univcable-B/D 175 -4.7 14850

3I Group/D 866.5 -2.5 157919

Assoc.Br.Foods/D 2872 1 131212

Barclays/D 199.15 0.55 7050892

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LONDON

Europe’s energy markets were rattled for a second consecutive day after an explosion at a natural gas hub in Austria threatened supplies already pinched

from a closed pipeline in the North Sea and a cold snap across the continent.

Natural gas and power prices jumped in Europe, and Brent crude oil futures rose above $65 a barrel for the first time since June 2015, extending its premium over the US benchmark. Britain, which is struggling to absorb the impact of a crack that shut down a key North Sea pipe-line network, felt the biggest increases.

A blast about 9am at the Baumgarten compressor sta-tion in Austria injured at least 18 people and left one missing and presumed dead, interrupting flows at one of the main points where Russian natural gas enters Europe. That followed two days of snow in London and cooler-than-normal temperatures spread from the Alps to Scandinavia, which raising demand for heating fuels.

“It is the worst possible time for a big gas hub to burn, since capacity is needed ahead of the winter and it changes the expectations of how much gas there will be availa-ble,” said Arne Bergvik, the chief analyst at Swedish utility Jamtkraft AB. “If weather turns colder and capacity is una-vailable, it will absolutely drive up power prices.”

Britain lacks the gas storage sites and web of inter-connections that make continental European markets better able to cope with disruption.

Front-month gas in Britain jumped as much as 23 per-cent to 73.7 pence a therm ($9.86 a million British thermal units) on ICE Futures Europe, the highest since Decem-ber 2013. The comparable UK power contract rose as much as 15 percent, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg. Baumgarten, about 50km (31 miles) north-east of Vienna, transports the equivalent of a 10th of Europe’s gas demand. Italy declared a state of emergency for gas, and the impact rippled through energy markets across the continent. The oil company OMV AG, which controls the Baumgarten gas hub, said it would take “days” to restore output, roiling power and gas markets across the continent.

A separate outage in the North Sea announced Mon-day affected both oil and gas flows. It will support prices for some types of oil from the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East as buyers look for alternatives to North Sea supply, according to McKinsey Energy Insights. The link in the Forties system of fields offshore the UK is critical because flows through it make up the single largest con-stituent part of so-called Dated Brent crude.

German power futures for next year climbed to the highest in more than four years, advancing as much as 3.8 percent on the EEX exchange in Leipzig. Coal rose as much as 2 percent to $90.75 a tonne, the highest for a front-year contract since May 2013 on ICE Futures Europe. Power prices also jumped in France and the Nordic region.

“For the moment, it will make coal generation a bit more profitable,” said Konstantin Lenz, the Berlin-based managing director of Lenz Energy.

Gas flows into the UK surged to a four-year high over-night as shippers responded to higher prices. Liquefied natural gas tankers may be able to fill some of the gap, but those vessels take days or even weeks to arrive, said Massimo Di-Odoardo, principal analyst of gas & LNG at Wood Mackenzie Ltd.

Supplies from the Netherlands, Belgium and storage sites increased. The market was already responding to a halt in production at some North Sea gas fields after a shutdown of the Forties pipeline network was announced on Monday because of a hairline crack. That boosted prices on Monday, when rare snow fell across the UK, forcing flights to be canceled in London and Birmingham.

Communities across the United States are looking to replace their dirty diesel buses, ushering in what some analysts predict will be a boom in electric fleets. But

transit agencies doing the buying are mov-ing cautiously, an analysis by Reuters shows. Out of more than 65,000 public buses ply-ing US roads today, just 300 are electric. Among the challenges: EVs are expensive, have limited range and are unproven on a mass scale.

A typical 40-foot electric bus costs around $750,000, compared with about $435,000 for a diesel bus. Cheaper fuel and maintenance expenses can lower the over-all costs over the 12-year life of the vehicles. But those costs can widely depending on util-ity rates, terrain and weather.

The technology is still a gamble for many cities at a time when bus ridership is falling nationwide and officials are trying to keep a lid on fares, says Chris Stoddart, an exec-utive at Canadian bus maker New Flyer Industries Inc. A top supplier of conventional buses to the US market, the company has just a handful of pure battery electrics in service.

“People worry about being an early adopter. Remember 20 years ago someone paid $20,000 for a plasma TV and then 10 years later it was $900 at Best Buy,” said Stoddart, Senior Vice-President of engineer-ing and customer service for New Flyer. “People just don’t want a science project.”

Rival electric bus manufacturers expect dramatic growth; the most ambitious fore-casts call for all bus purchases to be electric by 2030.

But even green-energy advocates are skeptical of such rosy predictions. CAL-START, a California-based nonprofit that promotes clean transportation, figures 50

percent to 60 percent of new buses will be zero emissions by 2030. Market research firm Navigant Research expects electric buses to make up 27 percent of new US bus sales by 2027.

Transit agencies have found EV perform-ance lags in extreme conditions. In environmentally friendly San Francisco, offi-cials have resisted electrics over concerns about the city’s famously steep hills.

“The technology isn’t quite there yet,” Erica Kato, a spokeswoman for the San Fran-cisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said in a statement.

Weather is also a major challenge. An electric bus tested last year near Phoenix wilted in the summer heat due to the strains of running the air conditioning. The vehicle never achieved more than 89.9 miles on a charge, less than two-thirds of its advertised range, according to a report by the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority. In Massachusetts, two agencies running small numbers of electric buses - the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority in Springfield and Worcester’s Regional Tran-sit Authority - say the vehicles weaken in extreme cold and snow. They have no plans to acquire additional EVs, officials at those agencies said.

Even places with successful pilots have downplayed expectations. Seattle’s King County Metro transit agency soon will be operating more than a dozen vehicles by three manufacturers, according to Pete Melin, director of zero emission fleet tech-nologies. The agency likes what it has seen so far.

Still, Melin said, high electricity rates from the local utility at peak demand peri-ods are a concern. And the lack of a uniform charging system among bus makers has complicated Seattle’s goal of running an all-electric fleet by 2034.

“We have caveats to becoming zero emissions,” Melin said in an interview.

Another worry is government funding. Federal money for bus purchases is about

25 percent lower than it was five years ago, according to Rob Healy, vice president of government affairs for the American Public Transportation Association.

An Obama-era program that sets aside $55m a year in grants to help transit agen-cies purchase clean buses will expire in 2020 if not renewed by Congress.

In addition to New Flyer, the fledgling US electric bus industry has two other major players: Chinese automaker BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hath-away Inc; and Silicon Valley startup Proterra Inc.

BYD and Proterra began selling electric buses into the US market several years ago, and have 165 and 126 vehicles on the road today, respectively. Both are ramping up US manufacturing on expectations that EVs will account for nearly all new bus sales in a lit-tle over a decade. BYD has a plant in Lancaster, California, while Proterra has manufacturing facilities in City of Industry, California and Greenville, South Carolina.

Buffett paid $230m for a 10 percent stake in BYD in 2008. Today the company has a market capitalization of $25bn, thanks mainly to China’s aggressive move to elec-trify transportation. More than 15 percent of the 608,600 buses in China are pure elec-

tric, according to government data.

Paris AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron gathered world lead-ers yesterday to talk about

climate finance, two years to the day since 195 nations adopted the Paris Agreement to stave off worst-case-scenario global warming.

Without trillions of dollars of investment in clean energy, the pact’s goal to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels will remain a pipe dream, observers and participants warned. “We hope

that this conference will be action first thing, particularly on providing financial support for the developing countries and small island developing countries and vulnerable countries,” former UN chief Ban Ki-moon told AFP ahead of the summit.

UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa warned political action “will not be enough if we do not update and reset the global finance architecture and make all development low-emission, resilient, and sustainable.”

“We see some movement... but climate consideration must now be part of all private sector decisions,” she added.

After the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015 to cheers and champagne, helped over the finish line by then US president Barack Obama, his successor Donald Trump has cast a long shadow over the process, withdrawing political support and finance.

Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax”, announced in June

the United States would pull out of the Paris pact, which had taken nearly 200 nations more than two decades to negotiate.

The US is the only country to reject the agreement.

Macron said on Monday he hoped Trump would “change his mind”, and awarded grants to 18 climate scientists, 13 of them from American universities, to pursue their research in France to “Make Our Planet Great Again” -- a play on the American president’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

Money has long been a sore point in the UN climate process, with developing nations insisting on financial assistance to help them make the costly move to less-polluting energy sources, and to shore up defences against climate change-induced superstorms, mega-droughts and land-gobbling sea level rise.

Trump has asked Congress to slash the climate research budgets of federal agencies -- threatening a loss of billions of dollars and thousands

of jobs. The Trump administration would also not fulfil US climate finance commitments, including an outstanding $2bn out of $3bn it had pledged towards the Green Climate Fund.

“The missing piece of the jigsaw is the funding to help the world’s poorer countries access clean energy so they don’t follow the fossil fuel-powered path of the rich world,” said Mohamed Adow of Christian Aid, which represents poor country interests at the UN climate forum.

In the absence of former climate champion Obama, American businesses, regions and local government leaders have reiterated their commitment to decarbonisation, and are represented in Paris by the likes of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, ex-governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

“It doesn’t matter that Donald Trump backed out of the Paris Agreement, because the private

sector didn’t drop out, the public sector didn’t drop out, universities didn’t drop out, no one dropped out,” Schwarzenegger, now the face of the R20 network of sub-national climate actors, said in Paris Monday.

“Don’t worry about any of that, we are the subnational level, we’re going to pick up the slack.”

Among the leaders in attendance at yesterday’s summit will be UN chief Antonio Guterres, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto, Theresa May of Britain, Spain’s Mariano Rajoy, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Trump was not invited to Tuesday’s gathering, and the US -- the world’s biggest historical emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases -- will be represented by an embassy official.

Also absent will be the leaders of major polluters China, India, Brazil, Russia and Canada, as well as Germany’s Angela Merkel among EU members.

Europe’s energy markets rattle after Austrian gas hub explosionRob Verdonck, Mathew Carr &Anna Shiryaevskaya Bloomberg

US agencies cautious on electric buses despite bold forecasts

An electric bus sits under a charging station in Azusa, California, US.

Nichola GroomReuters

A typical 40-foot electric bus costs around $750,000, compared with about $435,000 for a diesel bus. Cheaper fuel and maintenance expenses can lower the overall costs over the 12-year life of the vehicles.

Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax”, announced in June the United States would pull out of the Paris pact, which had taken nearly 200 nations more than two decades to negotiate.

Leaders join France’s Macron to discuss climate cash crunch

BUSINESS VIEWS 27WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017

28 WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2017BUSINESS

BACK TO BUSINESS

Dollar holds breath before Federal Reserve meeting

sight

Reuters

The dollar drifted in nar-row ranges on Tuesday after strong recent

gains as the US Federal Reserve geared up for a two-day policy meeting at which it is widely expected to raise interest rates for the fifth time sincelate 2015.

The British pound and the Swedish krone led gain-ers as investors squared positions in thin trading before the Fed’s decision.

Investors will be watch-ing for the Fed’s assessment of the health of the economy as that might change the market’s views on the future path of borrowing costs. Bond markets anticipate two further rate hikes next year but Fed forecasters expect three.

“Although we do not expect (Fed chair) Janet Yellen to overly modify her choice of judicious language, (President (Donald Trump’s) ...tax cuts ... could feasibly allow far greater conviction in the speed with which pol-icy normalisation should proceed,” said Neil Mellor, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon.

The dollar index held steady at 93.80 after rising more than 1 percent last week, its biggest weekly rise since the end of October. But it is still down more than 9 percent so far this year.

A Reuters poll of cur-rency strategists published last week suggested the dol-lar would remain on the back foot in the coming months and decline 2.5 percent against the euro over the next

year to $1.22. Sterling got only a temporary boost on Tues-day from data showing British inflation unexpectedly nearly hit a six-year high in November with markets focusing on Brexit negotiations.

The pound climbed to the day’s high $1.3380 after the data, up from $1.3335 before-hand, before slipping back to $1.33, up 0.2 percent on the day.

“Liquidity appears solid and any sterling upside has limits given the uncertainty before the Brexit deal,” said Neil Jones, Mizuho’s head of currency sales for hedge funds in London.

The euro changed hands at $1.175, having pulled back from Monday’s intraday high of $1.1811. The New Zealand dollar set a two-week high as investors welcomed the appointment of national pen-sion fund chief Adrian Orr, a former central bank official, to head the Reserve Bank from March.

Investors were relieved by the selection of an expe-rienced official and expected he would not veer too far from the status quo as he carries out his dual mandate.

The kiwi, which climbed nearly 1.1 percent on Mon-day fol lowing the announcement, extended its gains on Tuesday and rose to $0.6953 at one point, its highest since November 10. It was last trading at $0.6943, up 0.5 percent on the day. The Swedish krone bounced after inflation rose up to the government’s 2-percent tar-get in November.

Capital Comment

Climate change is a material and systemic risk no long-term investor can afford to ignore,» said Stephanie Maier.

Stephanie Maier, Director, HSBC’s Responsible Investment

NAME IN THE MARKET: CHINA’S TECH IPO

Market Talk

UBS leads blockchain data reportingZurich/New York Reuters

Financial companies led by Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S) are testing a blockchain platform to help them comply with

new European Union trade data standards due to come into force next year.

Blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, is a shared and immutable database maintained by a network of computers on the internet.

The more stringent require-ments are part of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, an overhaul of EU rules aimed at improving financial market transparency..

“The project is getting mar-ket participants to collaborate using blockchain to improve regulatory reporting,” Peter Stephens, head of blockchain at

UBS, told Reuters.The group, which includes

Barclays BARC.N, Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), KBC (KBC.BR), Swiss stock exchange SIX and Reuters parent Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), is testing an Ethereum blockchain to help ensure data accuracy and consensus.

Ethereum, a type of block-chain that can be used to develop decentralized applica-tions, was invented by 23-year-old programer Vitalik Buterin. Many large companies and industry consortia have teamed up to develop standards and technology to make it eas-ier for enterprises to use the Ethereum code, hoping it can help them streamline some of their processes.

“The point is to allow us to come to a consensus for this noncompetitive reference data which is essential for trade reporting purposes,” Stephens said.

Rather than replacing exist-ing processes the blockchain, which runs on the Microsoft (MSFT.O) Azure cloud, will let financial firms perform a “qual-ity check” of their own data against that of others, Stephens said. UBS Head of Data Chris-tophe Tummers added that the pilot may be expanded to not only detect anomalies but resolve them too.

The new EU rules, which are due to take effect on Jan. 3, 2018, require banks to report more data to regulators and will also oblige banks and financial firms to obtain information identifying clients, issuers and counterparties of trades.

One element in this is a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), a unique 20-digit code that con-nects key information about a company or legal entity such as its name, location, industry and regulatory data, which finan-cial groups must obtain from

clients before making any transactions that require reporting.

Firms can anonymously submit data onto the private blockchain, which will then check for any anomalies against other submissions under the same LEI, allowing the firm to update or standardise its own submissions.

Financial institutions have been investing in blockchain with the aim of developing soft-ware that can help them better manage some data-heavy proc-esses. Proponents say it is well suited for when many parties need access to the same data.

“This use of blockchain to solve real-world regulatory requirements in a cost effective way is very appealing,” Credit Suisse’s head of blockchain strategy, Emmanuel Aidoo, said.

The pilot phase, which uses real LEI data, is set to conclude at the end of January.

Swiss bank UBS at the Paradeplatz Square in Zurich, Switzerland seen decorated in this file picture.

Gilts push euro zone bonds yields higher in “continental updrift”London Reuters

Borrowing costs across the euro zone were pushed higher yesterday by a

jump in UK Gilt yields after Brit-ish inflation topped market expectations.

Consumer prices in Britain unexpectedly rose to its high-est level in nearly six years in November.

UK 10-year bond yields rose 2 basis points to 1.22 per-cent after the news, pulling euro zone yields off their recent lows. The debt of the world’s major economies often move instep with each other as many investors switch between them, and bond yields in general rise with inflation.

“Yields in Europe are being pushed higher by Gilts, which-have sold off a touch after the inflation data earlier today, a

sort of continental updrift from across the Channel if you will,” said Rabobank strategist Rich-ard MacGuire.

“It is important to remem-ber though that the overall trend has been lower yields. Even Gilts actually rallied quite strongly yesterday.”

Most euro-zone bond yields were 1-3 basis points higher by midday trading. Germany’s benchmark 10-year yield was up 2 basis points at 0.31 percent.

The Bank of England raised interest rates for the first time in a decade last month to coun-ter rising inflation. Investors are watching for signals from the central bank, which will meet on Thursday, about how soon rates will rise again.

High inflation usually pushes yields higher as inves-tors factor in a higher possibility of a rate hike.