MONDAY 28 DECEMBER 2020

QSE FTSE 100 DOW BRENT6,502.11 +6.36 (0.098%) 30,185.86 +56.03 (0.19%) $47.76 (-0.36) 10,564.33 +26.17 (0.25%)

Holiday sales tick up as shoppers invest in their homesThe surge in online spending and the early shopping was a testament to the holiday season and strength of retailers and consumers alike.

BUSINESS | 03Steve Sadove Senior advisor for Mastercard

Business

Qatar, India enjoy strong economic relationsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar praised the close relation linking his country with the State of Qatar, terming them as ‘historic and robust’, stressing his country’s interest in developing cooper-ation ties with Qatar in economic and commercial areas, as well as attracting more Qatari investments to India.

This came during a meeting held yesterday with officials from Qatar Chamber (QC) and Qatar Businessmen Association (QBA) in Sheraton Hotel.

The meeting was attended by QC Chairman, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani and QBA Chairman, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani.

QC Second Vice Chairman Rashid bin Hamad Al Athba and QBA First Vice Chairman Hussain Al Fardan also were present at the meeting, alongside with many QC board members and Qatari and Indian businessmen. Ambassador of India to the State of Qatar, Dr. Deepak Mittal was also present.

The meeting touched on reviewing cooperation relations between the Qatari private sector and its Indian

counterpart and identifying investment opportunities available on both sides.

During the meeting, the Indian Minister reviewed the efforts made by India to contain the spread of COVID-19, noting that Indian economy has started to recover from the repercus-sions of crisis.

He called upon Qatari busi-nessmen and investors to invest in India which offers a variety of opportunities in various eco-nomic sectors.

For his part, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim praised the strong and close relations which linked Qatar and India at all levels, especially the economic and trade fields, pointing out that India is an important trade

partner for Qatar, while Qatar is the largest supplier of liq-uefied natural gas (LNG) to India.

He noted that Qatar has managed to curb the spread of COVID-19 and benefiting from the siege experiment imposed on it for more than years, pointing out that India was among the first countries to

launch direct marine route with Hamad Port in the very beginning of the siege.

QC Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim also said that the two countries’ bilateral trade reached $10.5bn, while it stood at $6.3bn at the end of the third quarter of this year despite the current circumstances of COVID-19.

QC Chairman emphasized that the Qatar Chamber supports forging partnerships between both sides, noting that there exists a large scope of opportu-nities for Indian businessmen to expand their business in Qatar, especially that Qatar offers an advanced infrastructure, appro-priate economic legislation, and an attractive business

environment.He expressed his hope that

the meeting would help in fos-tering cooperation ties and exploring new areas of cooper-ation and partnership between business sectors of both countries.

On his part, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani lauded the strong relations between both countries in economic and com-mercial fields, noting that most Qatari businessmen have business partnerships with Indian companies, and they have Indian managers in their companies, stressing that India was the first commercial desti-n a t i o n f o r Q a t a r i businessmen.

Sheikh Faisal also empha-sized the Qatari businessmen’s firm desire to strengthen coop-eration relations with their Indian counterparts, expressing his hope that mutual visits between them will be resumed after the COVID-19 ends.

He also said that Qatari firms have been present in international markets, stressing that this offers a good oppor-tunity for them to build suc-cessful partnership with Indian counterparts whether in India or Qatar or in other countries.

India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar, during a meeting with QC Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani; QBA Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani and other dignitaries.

QC Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim said that the two countries’ bilateral trade reached $10.5bn, while it stood at $6.3bn at the end of the third quarter of this year despite the current circumstances of COVID-19.

Sportstech startups reimagine football experienceLANI ROSE R DIZON THE PENINSULA

Armed with game-changing technologies, a number of sportstech startups in Doha are reimagining the football expe-rience. A number of the startup companies, some of which have come from as far as the US, UK, and Spain, are also seeking to showcase their innovative solu-tions at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

Armony, a London-based sportstech startup which has created the world’s first and only coach-player wireless communication system for football and other sports, is one such company. Its patent-pending technology, which is already being used by a number of football clubs in the US, Europe, and the Middle East, solves a major problem for football coaches worldwide – lack of effective and instanta-neous communication with their players either during the

games or training sessions. “We hope to have the patent

by the third quarter of 2021, while the technology has been developed a year and a half ago. It’s been tested and proven. And the feedback was amazing. When coaches used it, they realised that there was no point in sticking to the old school way of communication by shouting, yelling, and screaming,” Armony’s CEO Mo Malkawi said while talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Qatar

SportsTech’s (QST) Demo Day recently.

Armony’s technology, which connects a smart hardware to a software, pro-vides live wireless verbal com-munication wherein coaches can immediately relay instruc-tions to their players on the field.

“I myself was a professional football player and a coach. And I experienced firsthand the crucial moments when I need to deliver a very important

piece of information to the player, and the player is 90 metres away. So we thought there must be a solution using technology for this. And we decided to be the company that solves this problem,” added Malkawi.

Dubbed as ‘the app for the best football fans’, Spanish startup Fancision, which merges fan engagement and gamification, has also come to Doha to introduce its tech-nology to the Qatari market. The company has already entered the Spanish and Latin American markets, and now seeks to grow in the region with Qatar as its base. Fancision aims to penetrate an $8.4bn market looking to provide a fully enter-taining experience for the fans. It has already secured deals with several professional clubs and is currently in late stage negotiations with the Qatar Stars League (QSL), Fancision’s CEO Alejandro Echeverria told The Peninsula. �P2

Commercial Bank campaign wins SocialResponsibility AwardTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

DotSpace, Commercial Bank’s creative agency, has received the Social Responsibility Award at the Arab Media Forum’s 8th Kuwait Creativity Award, for the awareness campaign launched by the Bank during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The awarding cer-emony was held under the patronage of Sec-retary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit and witnessed the presence of many creative per-sonalities in media and advertising from across the region. The event was organized virtually for the first time, and attendees watched the lives-tream via Zoom.

The annual event comes to highlight efforts by Kuwaiti and Arab advertising and production institutions. “For you Qatar” is a production video Commercial Bank launched months ago in col-laboration with DotSpace, to raise awareness on the importance of staying at home to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The video and the song reflect a patriotic and nation-alistic feel and convey the message of “staying at home is a national duty” with an upbeat yet serious rhythm.

Commenting on the award, Hussein Al Abdulla, EGM and Chief Marketing Officer at Commercial Bank stated: “We extend our warmest congratu-lations to our creative partner DotSpace, on winning the

very-well deserved award. We pride ourselves in collaborating with a creative agency like Dot-Space that never ceases to deliver outstanding, out-of-the-box campaigns.”

DotSpace is an integrated advertising agency founded in 2011. It differentiates itself by a digital-first mindset and modern approach to the mar-ket’s needs, and lives outside the box and develops brilliant ideas, content and brand experiences.

The Advertising Creativity Award is one of the region’s most prominent events that attend to Arab Media. The event brings together many ministers, media executives, journalists, academics, authors, actors, businessmen, and social figures from all around the Arab world. The song can be watched by scanning the QR code.

QR code for the song.

Ahlibank honours long-serving employeesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Ahlibank recognised 60 long-serving employees who have been with Ahlibank from 5 to 25 years at its yearly Long Service Award celebratory event. Ahlibank’s long-serving employees were recognised for their loyalty, commitment and dedication to the Bank’s success in the annual event which was attended by the CEO, Executive and Senior Management and employees of the Bank.

Hassan AlEfrangi CEO of Ahlibank said: “Our bank is very fortunate to have com-mitted and loyal staff, who dedicated years of their lives to serve the bank and its cus-tomers. The Long Service Award recognises the long-term contribution and ongoing

dedication, loyalty and com-mitment of Ahlibank employees, and the crucial role they play in the growth and success of the Bank.

Hassan AlEfrangi added: “I also take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and suc-cessful new year, and together as one team, we can maintain

strong and steady per-formance in coming years while delivering our Brand’s promise.”

Saad Al Kaabi, Head of Human Resources at Ahlibank said: “I am extremely proud of the number of long-serving employees being honoured on this special occasion. At Ahl-ibank, we understand the value and importance of Human Resource development and we will continue to ensure our employees are recognised and appreciated for their efforts and hard work. Furthermore, Ahl-ibank is committed in devel-oping its National workforce with its Qatarization plan, pre-paring Qatari employees with the knowledge and skills required to succeed at the Bank.”

Ahlibank CEO, Hassan AlEfrangi honouring a long-serving employee.

The video and the song reflect a patriotic and nationalistic feel and convey the message of “staying at home is a national duty” with an upbeat yet serious rhythm.

Armony’s CEO, Mo Malkawi (left), and Fancision’s CEO, Alejandro Echeverria

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02 MONDAY 28 DECEMBER 2020BUSINESS

Auto Class cars, the authorised general distributor of Maxus in Qatar, launched new Maxus vehicles that adds great value to its portfolio in Qatar. The launching cer-emony took place at Auto Class Cars showroom at Salwa Road and attended by H E Sheikh Faleh Bin Nawaf Al Thani, Managing Director - Auto at Nasser Bin Khaled group; Hesham Al-Sahn, General Manager of Auto Class Cars; Karim Monir, Head of Mar-keting and Communications; Tamer Abdallah, Maxus Brand Manager in Qatar, and media representatives.

The launch included the new 12-seater bus Maxus V80, and three all-new vehicles which are introduced for the first time in Qatar — the 16-seater bus Maxus V90, the G50 MPV compact vehicle, and the seven-seater mid-size D60 SUV. This launch is part of Auto Class Cars and Maxus expansion plan in Qatar that aims to meet the increasing demand on reliable and eco-friendly transport solutions.

H E Sheikh Faleh Bin Nawaf Al Thani, said: “Auto Class Cars is proud today to launch four new vehicles from the renowned brand Maxus. The brand is globally known for its reliability and sustainability, and its response to cus-tomers’ needs whether for individual use, family use or transportation. This is in line with NBK strategy to bring to Qatar the best and latest products the meet our customers’ expectations.”

Hesham Al-Sahn said: “The launch of three all-new models from Maxus is a clear indication of the ambitious

plans of the brand in Qatar. These new vehicles are distinguished with their quality, design, feature and 5-star safety ranking, making them the perfect fit for every day’s use. With the new vehicles, Maxus enters a new era of production, and together with Auto Class Cars, we are confident that this brand will maintain its top position as one of the favorite brands in Qatar”.

ALL-NEW MAXUS V90 (DELIVER 9)The all-new Maxus V90 (Deliver 9)

is a completely new minivan that employs cutting-edge design with its large, octagonal and chrome-laden grille and smaller and more defined LED lights. The 16-seat bus is an ideal solution for transport. From inside it is similarly stylish with its ‘panoramic’ and curved dashboard which employs a mix of hard and soft-touch plastics. Its interior appears to now be one of the smartest and most car-like of any large van on sale giving the sense of a surprisingly classy product.

V 90 has been furnished with all the latest tech. Comfort and convenience features include keyless entry and ignition, adaptive cruise control, dual-zone AC and a 10-inch touchscreen display. All models also feature electri-cally-assisted power steering, rear doors that open 260 degrees and a choice of Normal, Eco and Power driving modes.

Propulsion comes in the form of a brand-spanking 2.0-litre Turbo Diesel Direct injection engine producing 148hp and 375Nm for European cus-tomers, with torque peaking as low as 1,500rpm. Interestingly, a lot of work

has gone into improving the NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) with rubber-molded and foam covers sur-rounding the engine. The engine is hooked to a new 6-speed manual transmission with rear-wheel drive.

ALL-NEW MAXUS G50 MPVThe all-new Maxus G50 is a compact

MPV with 7 seats for executive luxury transportation. The G50 is equipped with a 12-inch infotainment system, pano-ramic sunroof, LED headlamps, auto-matic air-conditioning and power tailgate. Powering and motivating the G50 is a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine that produces 159hp and 250 Nm of torque, making for decent performance over naturally aspirated rivals. The engine is mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission that courses the power to the front wheels.

The G50 comes with electronic power steering, which allows this MPV to be piloted with absolute ease. Steering feel is not that apparent, however, the wheel turns with minimal effort, and while bigger than a typical MPV. The technology also includes USB, AUX, and Bluetooth

connectivity options, rear parking sensors, auto-matic climate control, a keyless entry system with push-start, steering wheel audio controls, and cruise control among other features.

The G50 is equipped with power-adjustable seats for select variants. Safety for all variants includes driver and front passenger airbags, 3-point seatbelts for all

passengers, electronic stability control, ABS with electronic brake assist, hill hold control, a tire pressure monitoring system, and an engine immobilizer as well as ISOFIX tethers.

ALL-NEW MAXUS D60MAXUS D60 is an all-new SUV

launched by SAIC-MAXUS. The new car is positioned in a medium-sized SUV and offers 7-seat layout. The D60 made its global debut with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine mated to a seven-speed DCT under its hood. This setup generates a decent 159hp and 250Nm of torque. Its massive octagonal grille up front features a honeycomb-like design. This is flanked by aggressive-looking swept-back headlamps as well as a pair of sporty fog lamps

The D60 also gets a gigantic 8-inch infotainment display up front, complemented by a 12.3-inch full LCD digital instrument panel. As a mid-sized SUV for family, it considers more on practicality in the interior design. A large area of soft material is used above the center console to highlight the good texture

NEW MAXUS V80The new Maxus V80 has now a

shorter wheelbase that accommodates 12 seats. It is equipped with standard headlamps that come with tilt adjust-ability and LED Daytime Running Light.

In terms of Interior design, the Maxus V80 is distinguished with its Humanized Design Interior. From front to back, Maxus V80 gives you efficiency and comfort. With its Various Space Arrangement, the incredible boot space and various styles of seat arrangement, allows V80 in providing various setting possible for different occasion. The Centre Console is simple that facilitates the ease of usage in a modern way.

Its surging power comes from an advanced, economical 2.5-litre turbo-diesel engine that generates 134hp of power and 330Nm of torque. Besides, the new version is equipped with AMT Automated Mechanical Transmission, the computer controlled automatic system based on the dry clutch and manual transmission. Compared with traditional ATAMT, the new AMT is simpler, more stable and its volume is smaller than the previous version.

Formerly known as LDV (Leyland DAF Vans), Maxus is one of the products of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). It is among the most respected companies for light passenger and cargo transport. The Maxus brand is now universally revered as a legend in the international commercial vehicle industry.

The Maxus vehicles are available now in Auto Class Showroom on Salwa road. Customers can visit the showroom from Saturday to Thursday 8am to 9pm and on Friday from 5pm to 9pm.

Auto Class Cars launches all-new Maxus vehiclesThe launch included the new Maxus V80, all-new V90 (Deliver 9), G50 MPV and D60 mid-size SUV.

Qatar, India discuss boosting trade ties

Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar with QC Chairman, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani; QBA Chairman, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani and other officials during the meeting held at Sheraton Hotel.

FROM PAGE 1

The Fancision app acts as a platform where sports fans from across the world connect, play, compete for prizes, as well as participate in the deci-sions of their teams while also helping the teams increase their revenue by better mone-tising from their football fanbase.

Some of the main features of the app include trivias, mini-games, predictions, challenges, chat, and voting on the deci-sions of the fans’ favourite clubs.

“It is estimated that clubs are missing out on about $500m in extra revenue every year just by not engaging their fans properly. And during the pandemic, this got way worse. The relationship between fans

and teams is like a long-dis-tance relationship. Fans watch scores and line-ups from afar. But they want to do more. There’s a lot of culture involved in football clubs, and fans also want to feel that they are being recognised for being a pas-sionate fan. The World Cup is one of our dreams. We are very

interested in the Mena region for the long period. However, we think we can also help Qatar make the World Cup even more memorable. We can help the fans engage from months earlier,” added Fancision’s Chief

Technology Officer, Lorenzo Camejo.

Fan engagement is con-sidered a major challenge in football. Add to that the dilemma of sponsors in trying to market their brands. US-based Golazzos aims to help bridge this gap.

“This is a massive market. There are 4 billion football fans in the world, and brands spend $100bn a year in mar-keting activation activities. We have this huge problem of brands that pay millions of dollars in sports spon-sorship. And Golazzos is the perfect solution for them to achieve an incredible return on investment,” said Golazzo’s CEO, Antonio Faillace during the QST’s Demo Day recently.

Sportstech startups reimagine football experience

Fancision’s Chief Technology Officer, Lorenzo Camejo

Bitcoin faces scrutiny after record-breaking rallyBLOOMBERG

It’s been a tough year by all accounts. But for Bitcoin, 2020 has been a marvelous time.

The cryptocurrency tripled, surpassing $20,000 for the first time as it notched record after record. The diehards cheered it as an inflation hedge in an era of unprecedented central bank lar-gesse. Wall Street veterans from Paul Tudor Jones to Stanley Druckenmiller blessed it as an alternative asset, adding to the rally. And companies like Micro-Strategy Inc. and Square Inc. moved cash reserves into crypto in search of better returns than near-zero interest rates deliver.

“What’s happening now — and it’s happening faster than anyone could ever imagine — is that Bitcoin is moving from a fringe esoteric asset to the main-stream,” said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management. “If it’s going mainstream, there is just so much money on the sidelines that is going to have to come in

and establish a position that it leaves me very bullish for 2021.”

But with Bitcoin capturing greater attention, it could also garner further scrutiny from reg-ulators, says Guy Hirsch, man-aging director for the US at online-trading platform eToro. “Despite this meteoric rise, there are some storm clouds on the horizon,” he said, including the fallout from several last-minute actions by the outgoing Trump administration, among others.

Devotees say that in some ways, the pandemic-ravaged year proved the perfect envi-ronment for the digital coin. Warnings of rampant money-printing by global central banks — some of which started to reveal their own interests in digital assets — sparked fears of eventual inflation, while interest rates dipped to rock-bottom lows. That’s thrust some investors to chase returns and hedge with cryptocurrencies, pushing its price past $24,000 from around $7,200 at the start of January.

Facebook shutting Irish units at center of tax disputeBLOOMBERG

Facebook Inc. has moved to wind down several Irish holding companies that had allowed it to shift billions of dollars in profit to the country, where it was lightly taxed, the Times of London reported, citing company documents.

The Irish companies were used to hold its intellectual property for international sales, and Facebook companies around the world would pay the units for the use of the IP, shifting much of the sales outside the US, the newspaper said. Facebook’s main Irish holding company paid $101m in taxes on profit of more than $15bn in 2018, the last year records were available, the

paper said.The move to wind down the

units started after the US Internal Revenue Service took Facebook to court, saying the social media company was shifting funds through Ireland to avoid US taxes, the Times said. Facebook also moved billions of euros in profits back to the US from Ireland, the paper reported.

“Intellectual property licenses related to our interna-tional operations have been repatriated back to the US,” Facebook said in a statement to the Times. “This change, which has been effective since July this year, best aligns cor-porate structure with where we expect to have most of our activities and people."

REUTERS — FRANKFURT

German luxury carmaker BMW is planning to step up its production of electric vehicles, Chief Executive Oliver Zipse told German daily Augsburger Allgemeine.

“We are significantly increasing the

number of electric vehicles. Between 2021 and 2023, we will build a quarter of a million more electric cars than originally planned”, Zipse told the newspaper’s Monday edition according to a pre-released version. BMW wants roughly every fifth car it sells to be powered by an electric engine by 2023, Zipse said, compared

to about 8 percent this year. The manager also reiterated his call to speed up the expansion of charging infrastructure.

“15,000 private and about 1,300 public charging points would have to be put into oper-ation every week as of today. Unfortunately, we are a long way from that”, he told the paper.

BMW to step up production of e-vehicles from 2021

Fan engagement is considered a major challenge in football. Add to that the dilemma of sponsors in trying to market their brands. US-based Golazzos aims to help bridge this gap.

Canary Wharf redevelopmentPeople look towards Canary Wharf from Greenwich Park in London, Britain, yesterday. Canary Wharf, which is London’s secondary central business district, recently received a green light for redevelopment as property owners seek to capitalise on demand for COVID-19 secure office space. Real estate asset management firm Quadrant and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management have secured planning permission to redesign 30 South Colonnade in the east London financial district.

03MONDAY 28 DECEMBER 2020 BUSINESS

What happens if the US govt runs out of money?REUTERS — WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump’s threat not to sign a $2.3 trillion spending package approved by Congress has already shuttered an emergency unemployment aid programme and threatens a partial federal government shutdown at midnight today.

The bill provides $892bn in coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion to keep regular gov-ernment operations running through the fiscal year.

Without Trump’s signature, Congress would need to pass a stopgap funding bill that he is willing to sign to keep federal agencies fully operating.

The Trump administration has not said what it will do if the government runs out of money, but previous lapses have led to tens of thousands of non-essential workers being put on leave and others, including those dealing with public safety, forced to work without pay.

Here’s what would likely happen if the White House and Congress cannot agree on a spending plan. The legislation would provide $600 stimulus checks to millions of struggling Americans. Trump, in one of his chief criticisms of the bill, has said the payouts are too small and has demanded the checks be increased to $2000.

Unemployment benefits being paid out to about 14 million Americans through pandemic programmes lapsed

on Saturday, but could be restarted if Trump signs the bill. The bill would keep the ben-ef i t s go ing t h r ou g h mid-March.

The spending package also extends a moratorium on evic-tions that expires on December 31, refreshes support for small business payrolls, provides funding to help schools re-open and aid for the transport industry and vaccine distribution.

All of the relief programmes are at risk unless an agreement can be reached.

The federal government has already purchased 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, or enough for 200 million people, from Moderna and Pfizer but needs additional funds to pur-chase more doses. It also signed contracts with other companies for vaccines that have yet to be authorised. Private companies,

including McKesson, UPS and FedEx, are distributing the doses but have been relying on staff in the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services for support.

States have received $340m from the US government to help offset costs they have borne from the vaccine rollout but say they face a shortfall of around $8bn. A shutdown would halt plans by Congress to distribute funding to make up for that

shortfall. Previous shutdowns have

led to widespread furloughs for workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the agencies leading the response to the coronavirus pandemic. A CDC programme to track flu out-breaks was halted during a 2013 shutdown; in 2018, the government kept the pro-gramme running during another shutdown, saying “immediate response to urgent

disease outbreaks” would continue.

The Defense Department continued operating through the last shutdown, which stretched 35 days through late 2018 and early 2019. During that period, the United States was unable to send paychecks to service members and civilian employees. Active-duty mil-itary personnel were con-sidered essential workers; some civilian employees and con-tractors were furloughed.

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies con-tinued working during previous shutdowns. The FBI Agents Association said after the last shutdown that funding lapses made it harder to pursue cases, in part because they were unable to pay informants. Federal courts largely remained open through the last shutdown because they had enough money available to sustain them through the shutdown.

Market regulators were forced to furlough staff during the last shutdown. The Secu-rities and Exchange Com-mission kept sufficient staff in place to monitor markets and “respond to emergency situa-tions.” It continued to accept corporate filings.

Deliveries continued as usual during previous shut-downs because the US Postal Service receives no tax dollars for day-to-day operations.

The Transportation Security Administration workers who screen airline passengers con-tinued working during the last shutdown. So did air traffic controllers, who the gov-ernment considered to be essential employees.

The 2018-2019 shutdown came to an end when absences by air traffic controllers raised the prospect of many flights into and out of New York being canceled, provoking a com-promise between Trump and Congress.

Market regulators were forced to furlough staff during the last shutdown. The Securities and Exchange Commission kept sufficient staff in place to monitor markets and “respond to emergency situations.”

Holiday sales tick up as shoppers invest in their homesAP — NEW YORK

Retail sales increased a modest 3 percent during a longer holiday season this year, as homebound shoppers spent more on furnishing and food but less on clothing and jewelry, according to figures released Saturday by a firm that tracks all forms of payments.

The increase fell short of predictions from the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, which had expected sales to rise between 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent this year compared to 2019.

As expected, a surge in online shopping fueled much of spending. Online sales rose a record 49 percent year-over-year between October 11 and December 24, according t o t h e M a s t e r c a r d SpendingPulse figures, which exclude services, automotive and gasoline sales.

The holiday shopping season was considered longer this year as retailers offered promotions sooner and encouraged customers to get a jump-start to avoid delivery delays. During the traditional holiday period, between

November 1 and December 24, retail sales rose 2.4 percent year-over-year, according to Mastercard’s data.

Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated, said the

surge in online spending and the early shopping was “a testament to the holiday season and strength of retailers and consumers alike.” Buying trends benefited e-commerce giant Amazon and big-box stores like Target and Walmart,

which already had robust e-commerce operations and were allowed to stay open during the pandemic, attracting shoppers who wanted to avoid visiting multiple stores.

But the pandemic has been

detrimental for smaller shops, clothing brands and department stores, which had already been struggling to adapt to the rise of online shopping. Already, more than 40 US retailers have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since the pandemic started forcing shutdowns in March.

Holiday department store sales fell 10.2 percent year-over-year, according to Mastercard. Spending on apparel plunged 19.1 percent, and jewelry sales fell 2.3 percent.

Shoppers instead invested in their homes. Furniture and furnishing sales increased 16.2 percent, while spending on home improvement rose 14.1 percent. Consumers also favored electronics and appliances, a category where sales rose 6 percent.

Clothing stores and specialty retailers offered big discounts and promoted curbside pickup in the hopes of rescuing the holiday season and surviving a difficult year. There was some payoff, as online clothing sales rose 15.7 percent, according to Mastercard. E-commerce sales at department stores also ticked up 3.3 percent.

Holiday shoppers make a last-minute trip to the Macy’s flagship department store in Midtown, Manhattan, in New York City, recently.

China approves heavier penalties on capital market violationsBLOOMBERG

China will increase penalties for fraudulent issuance of securities and other capital market violations from next year.

The maximum prison sen-tence will rise to 15 years from five, under an amendment to criminal laws approved in a meeting of Standing Committed of National People’s Congress on Saturday, China’s secu-rities regulator said in a statement.

The amendment will take effect from March 1.

For disclosing false infor-mation, the maximum sen-tence will change to 10 years from three, and an upper limit of a 200,000 yuan ($30,572) fine is removed, the China Securities Regulatory Com-mission said.

China will also impose a maximum 10-year impris-onment on lawyers and accountants for fraud in secu-rities issuance and significant transactions, it said.

Investors rethink role of technology,bonds and ESG after chaotic yearBLOOMBERG

This has been a year like no other. Hammered by an unprecedented health crisis, global stocks tumbled into a bear market at record speed, and then rallied to new highs thanks to a flood of central bank money. Bond yields tanked to uncharted lows and the world’s reserve currency surged to all-time highs, only to then retreat to its weakest level in more than two years as 2020 draws to a close.

Now, as investors face lower-for-longer rates even as growth picks up, doubts are emerging whether developed-market government bonds can continue to provide both pro-tection and diversification as well as satiate investors seeking income gains.

There’s also a debate over the

traditional investing policy of putting 60 percent of funds in stocks and 40 percent in bonds, even though the strategy proved to be resilient during the year.

“We expect more active fiscal stimulus than any other modern period in history in the next economic cycle, as monetary and fiscal policy align,” said Peter Malone, portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset’s multi-asset solutions team in London.

This year’s dizzying rally in tech stocks gave investors an opportunity of a lifetime. Anyone who missed out on this theme that benefited greatly from stay-at-home and digitisation trends in the pandemic would most likely find their portfolios lagging benchmarks. The top ten US com-panies that have contributed the most gains to the S&P 500 Index this year

are all technology-related stocks, ranging from cloud-computing pioneer Amazon to chip maker NVIDIA Corp.

Innovative stocks now are being valued on intangible factors such as goodwill and intellectual property rather than traditional methods like price-to-earnings ratios, Wang said, adding that investors should adopt such valuation strategies. ESG-related assets managed to outperform in many pockets of the market during volatility, proving skeptics wrong.

For example, an FTSE index of global stocks with significant involvement in environmental markets is up 35 percent this year, outperforming the global equity benchmark by more than 20 per-centage points. “The Covid crisis has brought the need for more rapid change into sharp focus,” said Harriet Steel of Federated Hermes.

In fact, the pandemic has prompted massive inflows to ESG-related products.Global funds investing in or adopting strategies related to clean energy, climate change and ESG have grown their assets under management by about 32 percent from a year earlier to a new record $1.82 trillion in 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A file photo shows a sign announcing the closing of the Statue of Liberty after Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown in a long-running dispute over Barack Obama’s healthcare law in 2013.

The Nasdaq MarketSite in New York.

04 MONDAY 28 DECEMBER 2020BUSINESS

Brexit offers Britain chance to do financial services differently REUTERS — LONDON

Brexit offers Britain a chance to do things differently in financial services, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said yesterday, but it will co-operate with the European Union on an approach to the sector despite little detail on the topic in its trade deal.

From January 1, British-based financial services groups lose automatic access to the EU’s single market, and both sides have said new market access must be negotiated outside the trade agreement in specific equivalence deals.

“Now that we’ve left the European Union, we can do things a bit differently (in financial services),” Sunak told broadcasters.

Britain and the EU clinched a trade deal on

Thursday, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted it is an accord which does not have as much as he would have liked about the financial services sector and regulatory equivalence.

Under a system known as equivalence, access to EU

markets will not be granted to banks, insurers and other financial firms based in Britain unless their home rules are deemed by Brussels to be “equivalent”, or as robust as regulations in the bloc.

The two sides will aim to agree a memorandum of understanding on regulatory cooperation in financial services by March 2021, and Sunak said that such lan-guage should provide reassurance.

“This deal also provides reassurance because there’s a stable regulatory co-operative framework mentioned in the deal,” he said. “I think (that) will give people that reas-surance that we will remain in close dialogue with our European partners when it comes to things like equiva-lence decisions.”

UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak

Vietnam economy expands 4.48% in Q4BLOOMBERG

Vietnam’s economic growth accelerated in the fourth quarter as exports and manufacturing extended their recovery from the pandemic slump earlier this year.

Gross domestic product rose 4.48% in the fourth quarter com-pared to a year earlier, up from a revised 2.69 percent in the third quarter, the General Sta-tistics Office said yesterday. That compared to the median estimate of 4.0% for the fourth quarter in a Bloomberg survey of 18 economists.

The economy expanded 2.91 percent for the full year, com-pared to the median estimate of 2.8 percent in the Bloomberg survey. The government’s latest full-year growth forecast for 2020 is 2-3 percent.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has sent economic growth this year to the lowest level in 2011-2020 period,” Nguyen Thi Huong, head of the statistics

office, said at a briefing in Hanoi. “However, recovery in manu-facturing has been the key driver that boosted growth.”

Exports rose 17.6 percent in December compared to a year earlier, while imports climbed 22.7 percent. For the full year, exports increased 6.5 percent

and imports gained 3.6 percent.The trade deficit in

December was at $1bn. The country recorded a full-year trade surplus of $19.1bn

Consumer prices rose 0.19% in December from a year earlier. The government aims to cap average inflation at 4 percent this year and next

Manufacturing for the full year rose 5.82 percent. Pledged foreign direct investment for 2020 through Dec. 20 down 25 percent year-on-year to $28.5bn, while disbursed FDI dropped 2% to about $20bn

Economic growth should speed up to about 6 percent next year, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told legislators in October

After the US Treasury des-ignated Vietnam last week as a currency manipulator, the country’s central bank said December 17 it doesn’t use the exchange rate “to create an unfair competitive advantage in international trade”

Gross domestic product rose 4.48% in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, up from a revised 2.69% in the third quarter, the General Statistics Office said yesterday. That compared to the median estimate of 4.0% for the fourth quarter in a Bloomberg survey of 18 economists.

China orders Ant Group to rectify businessesBLOOMBERG

Chinese regulators ordered Jack Ma’s online financial titan Ant group Co. to return to its roots as a provider of payments services, threatening to throttle growth in its most lucrative businesses of consumer loans and wealth management.

The central bank summoned Ant executives over the weekend and told them to “rectify” the company’s lending, insurance and wealth management services, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement yes-terday. While it stopped short of directly asking for a breakup of the company, the central bank stressed that Ant needed to “understand the necessity of

overhauling its business” and come up with a timetable as soon as possible.

The series of edicts represent a serious threat to the expansion of Ma’s online finance empire, which has grown rapidly from a PayPal-like operation into a full suite of services over the past 17 years. Before regulators inter-vened, Ant was poised for a public listing that would have valued it at more than $300bn. The Hangzhou-based firm now needs to move forward with setting up a separate financial holding company to ensure it has sufficient capital, and protect per-sonal private data, the central bank said.

“This is the culmination of a string of regulations and sets the

direction for Ant’s business going forward,” said Zhang Xiaoxi, a Beijing-based analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics. “We haven’t seen

clear indication of break-up yet. Ant is a giant player in the world and any breakup needs be to be cautious.”

Authorities also blasted Ant for sub-par corporate gov-ernance, disdain toward regu-latory requirements, and engaging in regulatory arbitrage. The central bank said Ant used its dominance to exclude rivals, hurting the interests of its hun-dreds of millions of consumers.

China last week intensified its scrutiny of the twin pillars of billionaire Ma’s internet domain when it also kicked off an inves-tigation into alleged monopolistic practices at Ant affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The e-com-merce firm’s US-listed shares tumbled the most ever on news of the probe.

The State Administration for Market Regulation dispatched investigators to Alibaba on

Thursday and the on-site inves-tigation was completed on the day, according to a Saturday report posted on a news app run by the Zhejiang Daily. The report cited an unnamed official from the local market regulation watchdog in Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is based.

Ant said in a statement yes-terday that it will set up a special team to create proposals and a timetable for an overhaul. It will maintain business operations for users, vowing to keep costs for consumers and financial partners unchanged, while stepping up risk control.

The pressure on Ma is central to a broader effort to curb an increasingly influential internet sphere.

A logo hangs on a building of Ant Group in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China.

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

QE Index 10,564.33 +0.25 %QE Total Return Index 20,309.58 +0.25 %QE Al Rayan Islamic Index - Price 2,416.96 +0.19 %QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 4,311.78 +0.19 %QE All Share Index 3,232.59 +0.15 %QE All Share Banks & Financial Services 4,292.02 +0.06 %QE All Share Industrials 3,137.32 +0.12 %QE All Share Transportation 3,295.50 +0.17 %QE All Share Real Estate 1,951.10 -0.34 %QE All Share Insurance 2,396.81 +0.27 %QE All Share Telecoms 1,049.50 +2.10 %QE All Share Consumer Goods & Services 8,183.05 +0.20 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

27-12-2020Index 10,564.33Change +26.17% +0.25%YTD% +1.33Volume 103,981,459Value (QAR) 214,428,408.16Trades 4,441Up 27 | Down17 | Unchanged 0224-12-2020Index 10,538.16Change -5.49% -0.05%YTD% +1.08Volume 115,695,207Value (QAR) 263,603,970.97Trades 4,686

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR229.00 per grammeSILVER QR2.97 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Dow Jones Industrial Average 30,219.86 +204.35 +0.68%S&P 500 3,705.36 +18.10 +0.49%Nasdaq Composite Index 12,815.35 +7.43 +0.06%FTSE 100 Index 6,495.75 +42.59 +0.66%DAX Index 13,587.23 +169.12 +1.26%CAC 40 Index 5,527.59 +60.73 +1.11%Nikkei Stock Average 225 26,524.79 +88.40 +0.33%Hang Seng Index 26,343.10 +223.85 +0.86%Shanghai Composite Index 3,382.32 +25.54 +0.76%ASX All Ordinaries Index 6,892.60 +47.10 +0.69%

Currency Selling (QAR) Buying (QAR) US$ 3.6500 3.6305 Australian Dollar AUD 2.81 2.75 Bangladeshi Taka BDT 0.044 0.0425 Canadian Dollar CAD 2.88 2.83 Euro EUR 4.53 4.45 Hong Kong Dollar HKD 0.472 ---- Indian Rupee INR 0.0505 0.049 Japanese Yen JPY 0.0357 0.0352 Pakistani Rupee PKR 0.02326 0.02273 Philippine Peso PHP 0.077 0.075 Pound Sterling GBP 4.98 4.9 South African Rand ZAR 0.235 0.225 Sri Lankan Rupee LKR 0.0202 0.019 Swiss Franc CHF 4.15 4.1 Turkish Lira TRY 0.485 0.475

QNBK - QNB 18.10 18.10 18.07 18.15 5,000 18.13 18.07 65,720 18.07 18.07 -0.03 -0.17 200 1,528,495 27,671,646.17

QIBK - Qatar Islamic Bank 17.35 17.36 17.35 17.39 7,160 17.39 17.2 5,147 17.38 0.00 +0.03 +0.17 57 132,563 2,302,823.11

CBQK - Comm. Bank of Qatar 4.35 4.40 4.35 4.40 64,798 4.399 4.36 27,443 4.36 4.360 +0.01 +0.23 14 337,112 1,471,232.13

DHBK - Doha Bank 2.385 2.371 2.370 2.395 26,895 2.395 2.375 10,000 2.375 2.375 -0.010 -0.42 14 288,401 687,578.887

ABQK - Ahli Bank 3.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,300 3.339 3.26 10,000 3.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0.00

QIIK - Intl. Islamic Bank 9.215 9.220 9.216 9.220 2,000 9.219 9.216 2,000 9.217 9.217 +0.002 +0.02 41 107,140 987,676.153

MARK - Rayan 4.515 4.540 4.526 4.565 72,076 4.556 4.545 25,000 4.556 4.556 +0.041 +0.91 275 5,779,134 26,304,839.812

KCBK - Al khalij Commercial Bank 1.85 1.840 1.826 1.850 10,584 1.84 1.826 24,000 1.826 1.83 -0.024 -1.30 43 4,109,966 7,590,600.640

QFBQ - Qatar First Bank (QFC) 1.739 1.73 1.72 1.75 17,256 1.741 1.74 95,935 1.74 1.740 0.00 +0.06 221 8,924,244 15,494,524.39

QETF - QE Index ETF 10.309 10.372 10.372 10.372 5,000 10.374 10.228 9,777 10.372 10.366 +0.063 +0.61 2 15,000 155,580.000

QATR - Al Rayan Qatar ETF 2.404 2.500 2.409 2.500 12,690 2.413 2.409 2,000 2.409 2.41 +0.005 +0.21 5 20,031 48,305.260

QATI - Qatar Insurance 2.426 2.426 2.401 2.437 19,239 2.439 2.437 45,191 2.437 0.000 +0.011 +0.45 23 554,233 1,336,119.960

DOHI - Doha Insurance 1.379 1.385 1.370 1.385 42,398 1.384 1.37 300,000 1.384 0.000 +0.005 +0.36 3 150,400 206,061.100

QGRI - General Insurance 2.397 0.000 0.000 0.000 15,500 2.397 2.251 9,140 2.397 0.000 0.000 0.00 0 0 0.000

AKHI - Alkhaleej Takaful 1.898 1.904 1.890 1.910 7,955 1.905 1.883 7,500 1.905 0.000 +0.007 +0.37 8 63,951 121,626.735

QISI - Islamic Insurance 6.75 6.75 6.70 6.75 5,363 6.75 6.65 10,000 6.70 0.00 -0.05 -0.74 2 842 5,663.50

QAMC - QAMCO 0.973 0.97 0.97 0.97 12,971 0.97 0.968 599,539 0.97 0.97 -0.00 -0.31 129 3,167,906 3,070,243.29

QIMD - Ind. Manf. Co. 3.123 3.20 3.10 3.20 1,800 3.11 3.1 5,000 3.11 3.11 -0.01 -0.42 4 20,200 62,902.00

QNCD - National Cement Co. 4.179 4.18 4.15 4.20 13,413 4.215 4.214 10 4.20 0.000 +0.02 +0.50 25 303,069 1,269,719.53

ZHCD - Zad Holding Company 15.20 15.20 15.05 15.20 2,119 15.09 14.9 2,295 15.09 0.00 -0.11 -0.72 6 5,071 76,853.41

IQCD - Industries Qatar 11.04 11.01 10.97 11.07 12,544 11.04 11.0 42,763 11.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 30 129,679 1,429,231.43

UDCD - United Dev. Company 1.698 1.698 1.680 1.700 14,160 1.692 1.688 1,764 1.688 0.000 -0.010 -0.59 66 643,562 1,084,879.330

QGMD - Qatar German Co. Med 2.297 2.30 2.27 2.34 53,306 2.28 2.278 85 2.28 2.280 -0.02 -0.74 393 5,567,458 12,819,343.97

QIGD - The Investors 1.807 1.78 1.78 1.89 97,997 1.87 1.86 9,000 1.87 1.870 +0.06 +3.49 225 6,494,033 12,103,134.13

ORDS - Ooredoo 7.67 7.652 7.652 7.980 2,000 7.884 7.883 7,264 7.884 0.000 +0.214 +2.79 255 1,411,596 11,115,300.198

QEWS - Electricity & Water 18.10 18.10 18.10 18.30 7,986 18.29 18.1 5,000 18.29 0.00 +0.19 +1.05 6 5,421 99,064.16

SIIS - Salam International 0.643 0.650 0.636 0.650 10,000 0.648 0.643 20,000 0.648 0.648 +0.005 +0.78 234 19,740,649 12,736,835.648

BLDN - Baladna 1.794 1.795 1.777 1.799 19,523 1.793 1.79 60,911 1.793 1.79 -0.001 -0.06 262 5,018,941 8,964,200.966

NLCS - National Leasing 1.27 1.270 1.245 1.270 8,425 1.257 1.246 517,553 1.246 1.246 -0.024 -1.89 169 4,853,233 6,084,373.713

QNNS - Qatar Navigation 7.001 7.00 7.00 7.06 47,971 7.03 7.025 5,000 7.03 0.00 +0.03 +0.41 35 268,491 1,887,496.15

MCGS - Medicare 8.803 8.80 8.800 8.899 3,000 8.893 8.815 4,000 8.893 0.000 +0.090 +1.02 27 152,375 1,348,991.951

QCFS - Cinema 3.993 0.000 0.000 0.000 2,750 3.993 3.655 3,000 3.993 0.000 0.000 0.00 0 0 0.000

QFLS - Qatar Fuel 18.80 18.60 18.56 18.86 169,441 18.86 18.83 34,000 18.86 18.86 +0.06 +0.32 47 96,944 1,821,805.84

WDAM - Widam 6.148 6.148 6.13 6.20 11,702 6.175 6.155 2,000 6.15 0.000 0.00 +0.03 26 67,118 414,317.49

GWCS - Gulf warehousing Co 5.099 5.098 5.050 5.098 7,409 5.085 5.059 20,000 5.055 0.000 -0.044 -0.86 25 180,929 916,252.965

QGTS - Nakilat 3.195 3.19 3.19 3.21 27,609 3.208 3.2 39,700 3.20 3.200 0.00 +0.16 74 921,359 2,946,841.78

DBIS - Dlala 1.845 1.847 1.817 1.847 80,354 1.822 1.818 21,040 1.822 1.822 -0.023 -1.25 88 1,586,612 2,895,097.382

BRES - Barwa 3.429 3.405 3.405 3.438 51,529 3.438 3.42 40,000 3.438 3.438 +0.009 +0.26 18 197,252 673,754.238

MCCS - Mannai Corp. 2.961 2.962 2.956 3.090 11,257 3.05 3.006 10,090 3.006 3.01 +0.045 +1.52 160 668,920 2,003,665.899

AHCS - Aamal 0.861 0.862 0.854 0.863 150,000 0.86 0.858 150,000 0.862 0.000 +0.001 +0.12 48 1,753,222 1,504,880.898

QOIS - Qatar Oman 0.89 0.875 0.870 0.897 12,766 0.896 0.892 145,409 0.892 0.892 +0.002 +0.22 113 2,545,122 2,261,723.666

ERES - Ezdan Holding 1.806 1.806 1.785 1.806 175,000 1.788 1.785 229,057 1.785 1.78 -0.021 -1.16 143 2,355,280 4,215,049.967

IHGS - Inma 5.066 5.03 5.01 5.20 29,699 5.16 5.13 3,094 5.16 0.00 +0.09 +1.86 235 2,488,094 12,800,111.27

GISS - Gulf International 1.72 1.71 1.69 1.73 24,641 1.7 1.69 557,263 1.69 1.69 -0.03 -1.74 201 5,641,917 9,618,213.70

MPHC - Mesaieed 2.065 2.051 2.048 2.067 1,000 2.058 2.054 24,599 2.054 2.054 -0.011 -0.53 93 712,786 1,463,016.472

IGRD - Investment Holding 0.603 0.603 0.599 0.604 286,592 0.604 0.603 40,000 0.604 0.604 +0.001 +0.17 173 10,600,306 6,375,131.554

VFQS - Vodafone Qatar 1.35 1.34 1.34 1.36 47,800 1.358 1.35 25,872 1.35 1.35 0.00 0.00 86 1,838,709 2,493,303.70

MERS - Al Meera 20.53 20.80 20.50 20.80 5,511 20.72 20.55 4,000 20.55 20.55 +0.02 +0.10 15 17,375 356,731.22

MRDS - Mazaya 1.255 1.255 1.240 1.255 138,552 1.248 1.245 111,875 1.245 1.245 -0.010 -0.80 122 2,516,318 3,131,662.387