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German court hands ECB three-month ultimatum to justify stimulus scheme

WEDNESDAY 6 MAY 2020

BUSINESS

Firmer action

MEA banks think cash will dip below 5% of transactions in next five yearsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Banks in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are the strongest believers in a cashless society, according to a global retail banking survey released by Temenos, the banking software company.

The in-depth survey con-ducted by the Economist Intel-ligence Unit (EIU) on behalf of Temenos reveals that 6 in 10 Middle East and African banking executives think cash will dip below 5 percent of retail trans-actions in the next five years, compared to a global average of 48 percent who think the same.

The lockdown measures imposed by governments worldwide in light of the evolving Coronavirus pandemic are also expected to increase the need for and use of digital banking and payment solutions globally.

The EIU report on “ How technology is driving the evo-lution of intelligent banking in the Middle East and Africa” indi-cates that MEA retail banks are highly conscious of the threats financial exclusion and delaying digitalization pose to their business models. Respondents acknowledge consumer demands for accessible, hyper-personalized digital banking experiences, ranking changing customer demands as the highest-impact trend by 2020 (35 percent). A plurality of MEA banking executives – 43 percent of respondents – identify new technologies, including AI, as the most impactful trend on their sector by 2025.

In order to capitalise on these trends, MEA retail banks recognise the need to sharpen digital marketing skills to bring excluded customers into the banking sphere. As such, mas-tering digital marketing and engagement is considered the top strategic priority for retail banks in the near term (35 percent by 2020), and in the medium term (35 percent by

2025). Notably, higher numbers of MEA respondents believe digital marketing is also the most valuable use for new technol-ogies (23 percent versus 13 percent globally). These findings indicate that MEA retail banks believe investing in digital tech-nologies to target and attract the un- and underbanked is crucial.

The survey reveals that the Middle East, in particular, is poised to encourage digital financial inclusion, with young populations and smartphone use predicted to hit 74 percent by 2025. Governments across the entire MEA region are increas-ingly embracing digital agendas to encourage financial inclusion and accelerate digital banking and a cashless economy.

The affordability of smart-phones is a key driver in the new development of building mobile-only and mobile-first greenfield banks. Jean-Paul Mergeai, Man-aging Director – Middle-East & Africa, Temenos, commented: “Even in the most uncertain times, the power and opportu-nities of digital banking remain the same.''

''We continue to relent-lessly invest 20 percent of our revenues into R&D, the highest in the industry, and provide to banks the winning combi-nation of the most advanced cloud and AI technology with the richest, broadest banking functionality,” said Katya Kocourek, Managing Editor - Financial Services, The Econ-omist Intelligence Unit.

FROM LEFT: Finland’s Minister of Education Li Andersson, Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Minister of Interior Maria Ohisalo, Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson attend a news conference of the Finnish Government, regarding the COVID-19 spread, in Helsinki, Finland.

Ahlibank named ‘Best Bank for Treasury Services Qatar 2020’THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Ahlibank, a leading Qatari-owned financial institution, has been named the winner of the Global Banking & Finance Review Awards 2020 for the “Best Bank for Treasury Services Qatar 2020”.

Following a rigorous selection process to find winners that stand out in particular areas of expertise in the banking and finance industry, Ahlibank was chosen as the “Best Bank for Treasury Services Qatar 2020” by The Global Banking & Finance Review.

Mohamed Al Namla, Deputy CEO - Business Support, Services and Human Resources of Ahl-ibank said: “It’s an honour to receive the prestigious “Best Bank for Treasury Services Qatar 2020” award from Global Banking & Finance Review. This is an excellent way to start the year and this award reflects a job well done and is a great

recognition from Global Banking & Finance Review of the great efforts the Bank has been making over the last few years. Ahlibank is committed to deliver out-standing service to our clients & stakeholders.

Al Namla further added: “I would like to thank the trust and loyalty of our cus-tomers. This award speaks to the dedication and com-mitment of our employees and is a strong endorsement of our client-focused approach”.

UK car sales plunge to 1946 low as virus slams economyAFP/LONDON

Sales of new cars in Britain plunged 97 percent in April, striking the lowest level since 1946, as coronavirus fallout slams the brakes on economic output, data revealed Tuesday.

Separate data showed that the UK service sector plum-meted to another record low in April.

It comes one day after British finance minister Rishi Sunak promised there would be no “cliff-edge” cut-off to the government’s furlough scheme that is supporting millions of workers in the private sector.

Reacting to the COVID-19 outbreak, the UK Treasury has paid 6.3 million workers up to 80 percent of their salaries at a total cost of £8.0bn ($9.8bn, €9.1bn).

It is part of an emergency package of measures by the government and the Bank of England, with the latter having slashed its main interest rate to a record-low 0.1 percent and pumped £200bn more into the economy.

While the BoE is expected to sit tight on rates at its meeting this week, the central bank is set to slash its forecasts for British economic growth

following the recent dire data.“The Bank of England is

likely to indicate that it is in ‘wait and see’ mode as the sub-stantial stimulus that it announced in March is still being enacted, notably the buying of £200 billion of gov-ernment and corporate bonds,” said Howard Archer, chief eco-nomic advisor to the EY ITEM Club.

“Significant attention will be focused on the new Bank of England forecasts for GDP, contained in the quarterly Monetary Policy Report that will be released on Thursday along with the MPC’s decision

and minutes of the meeting,” he added. Ahead of the BoE update, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said new registrations for cars sold in Britain collapsed by a “precipitous” 97 percent last month on a yearly basis to just 4,321 vehicles.

That was the worst per-formance since February 1946 just after the Second World War and compared with 161,000 cars in the same month of 2019, the SMMT said.

“The decline was the steepest of modern times, and is in line with similar falls across Europe, with France

88.8 percent down and the Italian market falling 97.5 percent in April,” the Society said in a statement.

It noted that while car showrooms shut for Britain’s lockdown implemented on March 23, some deliveries did take place for key workers and front-line public services and companies.

Overall however, the figures “make for exceptionally grim reading, not least for the hun-dreds of thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on the sector”, said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.

“A strong new car market

supports a healthy economy and as Britain starts to plan for recovery, we need car retail to be in the vanguard.” Separately on Tuesday, the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS UK services purchasing managers’ index plunged to 13.4 in April after an all-time low of 34.5 in March. A PMI score below 50 indicates a contraction.

“The services survey data was, quite frankly, appalling and knocked the pound in the immediate aftermath of the release but the currency has since rebounded,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at Oanda trading group.

QC to hold its first general assembly meeting online on May 21

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Chamber (QC) will hold its general assembly meeting (GAM) on May 21 online, the chamber announced in a statement issued yesterday.

The meeting will be chaired by QC Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani.

The statement said that due to the current circum-stances and in adherence with the precautionary measures taken to curb the outbreak of coronavirus, the GAM would be held electronically.

The online registration for attendance the meeting will start from today (May 6) and will close half an hour before the meeting through the Chamber’s website www.qatarchamber.com After reg-istration, each member will receive a link to follow up and participate in the meeting.

The statement also noted that if the quorum is not com-pleted at the first meeting, the second meeting would be held at 12:00pm on Monday June 8. The second meeting will be held regardless of the number of attendees.

The meeting’s agenda includes reviewing the report of the Board of Director on the activities of the Chamber for the year ended 31, December 2019.

It also includes discussing the QC’s fiscal report for the year ending December 31, 2019 through the auditor’s report on the final accounts and the statement of income and expenses for the year.

It also will see approving the estimated budget for the fiscal year 2020 and appointing a new auditor for the 2020 financial year.

The EIU report on “How

technology is driving the

evolution of intelligent

banking in the Middle East

and Africa” indicates that

MEA retail banks are highly

conscious of the threats

financial exclusion and

delaying digitalization pose

to their business models.

Norwegian Air to sell new shares at close to 80% discountREUTERS — OSLO

Norwegian Air will sell new shares at a 79 percent discount to the latest traded price on the Oslo Bourse, the budget carrier said yesterday as it seeks to boost its equity in order to qualify for Norway’s government aid package.

Shareholders on Monday approved a plan to convert nearly $1bn of debt into equity and raise up to 400 million crowns ($39m) from the sale of new shares to help the airline survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Norwegian aims to sell new shares at 1.0 crown each, it said, far less than yesterday’s closing price of 4.80 crowns as it seeks to attract investors even while the debt conversion leads to a massive dilution of ownership stakes. The company plans to raise between 300 million and 400 million crowns, and has so far secured commitments from investors planning to buy shares for more than 100 million crowns, it added. The debt conversion and share sale will allow Norwegian Air to tap government guarantees of up to 2.7 billion crowns, which hinge on a reduction in leverage.

Moody’s reaffirms Apicorp’s credit

rating to ‘Aa2’ with ‘stable’ outlook

02 WEDNESDAY 6 MAY 2020BUSINESS

Lockdown eases in France

More than 250 individuals awarded cash prizes in QIB’s third MISK drawsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has awarded more than 250 winners with cash prizes in the third edition of its innovative savings and draw account, MISK. The MISK account comes as part of the Bank’s ongoing efforts to promote positive financial habits and encourage individuals to save money.

Existing and new QIB cus-tomers interested in opening a MISK Savings Account, can do so easily, from anywhere, at any time, simply by reaching out to their mobile phone and using the award-winning QIB Mobile App. New customers can start their relationship with QIB by opening the MISK account through the mobile app and subsequently start using the app to manage all their day-to-day banking needs remotely having access to more than 90 features and services.

Upon opening the account, customers will receive a free debit card, free e-statement service, and can request a free for the first year credit card backed by the funds balance in their MISK account.

MISK has witnessed two previous successful editions, awarding a total of 490 loyal QIB Customers, where two lucky winners walked home with QR1m each. All the draws are held in the presence of

official representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as well as QIB repre-sentatives. The names of the winners from the most recent draws are published on QIB’s website.

Due to the increasing popu-larity of the account, in this years’ edition, QIB has doubled the number of weekly winners to 545 and will award QR7.4m in total. Every week, 10 lucky winners are entitled to QR10,000 each, and two monthly winners are eligible for QR50,000 each. While the grand prize draw for the QR1m will take place in November 2020.

The QIB Mobile App has undergone an immense trans-formation over the years, to keep up with the hyper-con-nected, online world. Regular updates to the app make it easier than ever to bank on the go, 24/7, as they were developed to meet the

customers’ daily banking requirements.

Customers can conven-iently enjoy a contact-free banking experience with QIB by completely banking remotely using QIB’s Mobile App or Internet Banking that has over 90 features, available 24/7, that serve the customers’ daily banking needs.

All Qatari citizens and res-idents are eligible to open an innovative MISK Savings Account for themselves or their minor children. Customers have to maintain a minimum monthly balance of QR10,000 to be eligible for the weekly draws. To qualify for the grand prize draw, the customer must open the account three months prior to the draw and maintain a minimum of QR10,000 for each of those months. Every additional QR10,000 earns the customer one more chance in the draw.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Arab Petroleum Invest-ments Corporation (Apicorp), a multilateral development f inancial inst i tut ion, announced that its ‘Aa2’ rating with a ‘stable’ outlook was reaffirmed by Moody’s Investor Service despite current economic and market shocks.

According to Moody’s, “The credit profile of Arab Petroleum Investments Cor-poration (Apicorp) reflects its high capital adequacy, sup-ported by moderate leverage, robust asset quality, low levels of nonperforming assets, and a very strong liquidity and funding profile, underpinned by diversified funding sources and increased availability of liquid resources to cover upcoming net cash outflows. Apicorp’s shareholder support is derived from the presence of callable capital and credit-worthy shareholders.

The coronavirus outbreak and the related oil price shock pose risks to asset performance, but [Apicorp’s] track record of resilience to shocks and strong quality of management mitigate some of these risks.” Dr. Ahmed Ali Attiga (pictured), CEO of Apicopr, commented, “Api-corp’s concerted efforts to diversify the asset portfolio both sectorally and geograph-ically, coupled with our already strong financial position, have been key in maintaining our status as the only financial insti-tution in the Mena region with an ‘Aa2’ rating, even against the current backdrop of global market challenges.” “Moreover,

Apicorp maintains very strong partnerships in the energy sector and enjoys Preferred Creditor Status in its Member Countries.

These factors, alongside strong underwriting standards, resilient financing structures and prudent provisioning pol-icies, ensure the continued integrity of the institution’s balance sheet position and robustness of its profitability,” Dr. Attiga added.

A p i c o r p r e c e n t l y announced that it posted strong financial results for the year ended 2019, including a 17 percent Y-O-Y increase in net recurring income to $112m, up from $96m at year end 2018. This was driven by Corporate Banking and Treasury and Capital Markets, whose gross income increased 32 percent and 24 percent Y-O-Y to reach $201m and $80m, respectively. Moreover, Apicorp recently announced a landmark increase in callable capital to $8.5bn, as well as a significant increase in authorized and sub-scribed capital, further bol-stering its financial sustaina-bility and resiliency.

French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire talks with a hairdresser who prepares the salon for reopening yesterday in Paris, as the country is under lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nigeria’s government expects economy to contract by 3.4% in 2020REUTERS — LAGOS

Nigeria’s economy is projected to contract by 3.4 percent, government officials said yesterday, as dwindling oil revenues and the new corona-virus forced the country to cut budget plans for a second time to assume a lower petroleum price of $20 per barrel.

The West African country, which emerged from a recession in 2017, was already contending with low growth of around 2 percent before oil prices plummeted. Africa’s top oil exporter relies on crude oil sales for around 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings and more than half of government

revenue.With global oil prices

plunging, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said in March that this year’s record 10.59 trillion naira ($29.42bn) budget would be cut by about 15 percent.

At the time, she said the initial assumed oil price of $57 per barrel would be reduced to a worst case scenario of $30 per barrel.

But yesterday, she said that benchmark would again have to be revised down.

“We are in the process of an amendment that is bringing down the revenue indicator to $20 per barrel,” Ahmed said in a web conference about the

impact of low oil prices on the country.

Budget revisions need to be approved by lawmakers before being signed into law by the president.

Ahmed also said Nigerian oil and gas projects will be “delivered much later than orig-inally planned” due to upstream budget cuts.

Nigeria’s economy has been battered by low oil prices fol-lowing a dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

It also plans to cut oil pro-duction to 1.7 million barrels per day (mbpd), from the 2.1 mbpd initially proposed in the budget, under an agreement brokered by the Organization of the

Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

Ben Akabueze, budget office director general, said oil rev-enues were expected to fall by more than 80 percent. He said the government had revised its projections and expected the economy to contract by 3.4 percent this year compared with its previous expectation that it would grow by 2.9 percent.

Nigeria would speed up marginal field licensing and oil mining licence renewals to try to raise revenues, Akabueze said.

The government officials on the call discussed the issue of Nigeria’s debt servicing costs, a week after the country shelved plans to borrow 850 billion

naira ($2.36bn) from interna-tional markets and instead tap domestic markets to finance the budget. The finance minister said Nigeria is in talks to defer debt service obligations to “2021 and beyond”.

“It’s not debt forgiveness, it’s just rescheduling of our obliga-tions,” said Ahmed, with regards to talks with lenders.

She did not provide details of the lenders with whom talks were held. Ahmed said Nigeria was spending around 58% to 60% of revenues to service debt, which was responsible for the request.

And the budget office director general said debt serv-icing costs were expected to rise

by 200 billion naira in 2020. The impact of low oil prices has been compounded by shock-waves caused by the new coro-navirus pandemic.

Africa’s most populous country recorded its first con-firmed coronavirus case in late February. There have been 2,802 recorded cases and 93 deaths out of 200 million inhabitants.

Lockdown restrictions were eased on Monday in Lagos, the country’s economic hub, and the capital, Abuja. It marked the reopening of the economy after more than four weeks of lock-downs - despite the number of confirmed cases having roughly doubled in the last week.

Austria says reopening shops has not accelerated coronavirus infectionsREUTERS — VIENNA

Austria’s first loosening of its coronavirus lockdown three weeks ago, in which thousands of shops reopened, has not led to a new spike in infections, though further vigilance is necessary, its health minister said on Tuesday.

The Alpine republic acted early to tackle the viral pan-demic, closing bars, restau-rants, schools, theatres, non-essential shops and other

gathering places seven weeks ago. That helped cut the daily increase in infections to less than 1% and keep deaths rela-tively low - with just 606 reported so far.

Buoyed by those numbers, on April 14 Austria became one of the first countries in Europe to loosen its lockdown, reo-pening DIY and garden centres as well as shops of up to 400 square metres - twice the playing area of a singles tennis court.

“We can now examine and assess the effects of April 14 and the following days very, very well and they show that we managed this first opening step excellently,” Health Minister Rudolf Anschober told a news conference.

“We have no indication of a noticeable increase in indi-vidual areas. The situation is very, very constant, very, very stable and that is a really very, very positive, good situation,” he said.

UK considers wage cut for 6.3 million furloughed staffREUTERS — LONDON

Britain’s government is considering cutting the proportion of workers’ wages it pays under its massive coronavirus furlough scheme to 60 percent from 80 percent, London’s Evening Standard newspaper said yesterday.

The scheme now sup-ports the wages of 6.3 million employees, almost a quarter of Britain’s private-sector workforce, who have temporarily stopped work at a cost of around £8bn ($10bn).

The support is due to stop at the end of June, after being extended by a month already.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday there would be no sudden cliff edge in June but that he was looking at the best way to phase the scheme out and ease people back to work “in a measured way”.

According to the Evening Standard, a leading option is to lower the proportion of fur-loughed staff’s wages that the government pays to employers to 60 percent from 80 percent.

Employers are encouraged to make up the difference, but are not obliged to. Another approach would be to allow some furloughed staff to work, but with a smaller taxpayer subsidy.

Britain’s finance ministry declined to comment on the possible options for winding down the scheme.

The government is due to review the lockdown on Thursday, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to give more details of his approach on Sunday.

Moody’s reaffirms Apicorp’s credit rating to ‘Aa2’ with ‘stable’ outlook

Stocks and oil rally on optimism over easing of lockdownsBLOOMBERG

US stocks gained for a second day, with sentiment buoyed as more economies moved toward easing their corona-virus lockdowns. Oil headed for its longest winning streak in nine months.

Shares of energy, health care and information tech-nology companies were the biggest gainers in the S&P 500. Every sector climbed as the Stoxx Europe 600 advanced after slumping a day earlier and missing out on the late rebound for US stocks. ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp led advances among energy stocks for a second day amid the recovery in crude. Surges by Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp put the Nasdaq Composite Index within 1% of erasing its losses for the year.

“The market is pinning its hopes on the fact that we are seeing some progress on the treatment front and we are talking about reopening,” said Jeff Mills, chief investment officer for Bryn Mawr Trust Co.

The euro fell as investors

scrutinized a verdict from Ger-many’s top judges over the legality of European Central Bank stimulus.

They ruled that some actions taken by the country’s Bundesbank to participate in the asset purchase program were unconstitutional. Italy’s bonds fell and German bunds rose, widening the yield spread between the two.

“There is reaction among euro area government bonds, but this ruling in Germany is not definitive for sentiment today on global markets,” said Stephen Gallo, head of European FX strategy at the Bank of Montreal. “Signs that lockdowns aren’t being severely re-tightened are setting the tone.”

Efforts by many major economies to start easing restrictions that have helped contain the coronavirus pan-demic are inspiring a fragile confidence and hopes for an economic recovery. However stocks remain on shaky ground as US-China tensions flare and traders weigh the chances of a second wave of infections.

“The present is dire but the future is looking brighter,” Brad Bechtel, global head of foreign exchange at Jefferies LLC, wrote in a note.

As global deaths from the pandemic topped 251,000, Hong Kong said it will ease curbs on social gatherings and reopen shuttered schools. Cal-ifornia, the first state to shut down its economy over Covid-19, said it will start loos-ening its lockdown on Friday. Italy began to reopen its economy after two months. Spain started to relax its lockdown regime after weeks of confinement.

In Asia, Australia’s dollar pared gains after its central bank left rates unchanged. Markets were closed in Japan, China and South Korea.

Here are some key events coming up:

The Bank of England has a policy decision on Thursday.Friday brings the US jobs report for April, expected to show a severe impact from the pandemic. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of econ-omists calls for a 21 million plunge in payrolls.

Democrats are eyeing the new aid package as states and cities seek as much as $1 trillion to prevent local layoffs.

03WEDNESDAY 6 MAY 2020 BUSINESS

Pelosi pushes $800bn new virus package as GOP resists big spendingAP - WASHINGTON

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured) pressed ahead yes-terday with the next coronavirus aid, a sweeping $800bn-plus package that is expected to be unveiled soon even as the House stays closed while the Senate reopens in the pandemic.

Key to any plan to reopen the economy, Democrats say, is robust testing. They are also expected to propose another round of direct cash aid for anxious Americans, funds for states to prevent layoffs and more money to shore up busi-nesses in the stay-home economy.

“We still don’t have a national testing strategy that is adequate,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said yes-terday. He called it embar-rassing. “It’s life and death.”

The contours of the next package are taking shape despite Republican resistance to more outlays and a deepening debate over how best to con-front the deadly pandemic and its economic devastation.

President Donald Trump is encouraging states to reopen and Republicans hope the gradual comeback will kick-start the economy, reducing the pressure for more pricey aid.

“Now it’s time to go back to

work,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House.

Under strict social distancing guidelines, the Senate recon-vened Monday for the first time since March, while the House is staying away due to the health risks as the conflicted Congress reflects an uneasy nation. The Washington area remains a virus hot spot under stay-home rules.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opened the chamber defending his decision to focus the agenda on con-firming Trump’s nominees rather than the virus outbreak.

Yesterday, McConnell insisted that any new aid package must include liability protections for the hospitals, health care providers and busi-nesses that are operating and reopening in the pandemic.

But the Republican leader also signaled an interest in beefed up virus testing strategies as central to the nation’s ability to take steps “back toward

normalcy.”“Testing, tracking, treat-

ments,” McConnell said from the Senate floor. “Our task ahead will be to keep seeking thoughtful solutions.”

By reconvening this week, Senate Republicans are trying to set the terms of debate, frus-trated that Pelosi was able to fill up earlier aid bills with Demo-cratic priorities. They’re reluctant to unleash federal funds beyond the nearly $3 trillion Congress already approved in virus relief and hope Trump’s push to re-open will reduce the need for more aid.

For more than five weeks, the COVID-19 crisis has all but closed Congress, a longer absence than during the 1918 Spanish flu. Senators returned to a changed place with new guidelines, including the recom-mendation that senators wear

masks - blue face coverings were available for free, and being worn by staff. They were also told to keep their distance and leave most staff at home. Public access is limited, including at public hearings. The Capitol itself remains closed to visitors and tours.

It’s not just lawmakers at risk. Reopening part of Capitol Hill poses health risks for the cooks, cleaners, police officers and other workers who keep the Capitol complex functioning.

Democrats are eyeing the new aid package as states and cities seek as much as $1 trillion to prevent local layoffs and keep paying nurses, police, fire-fighters and other front-line workers as local revenues tank during the stay-home shutdown.

Pelosi outlined the gov-ernors’ requests for $500bn, with the counties and cities seeking as much as $300bn, which she has said could be spread out over the next several years. On a private conference call with House Democrats on Monday, she also discussed a “paycheck guarantee” for the newly jobless.

Pelosi told reporters yes-terday on Capitol Hill the new package will be “just very directly related to saving lives, the livelihood and the life of our democracy.”

IATA backs face

masks for safe flyingREUTERS - LONDON/PARIS

The body representing global airlines came out in favour of passengers wearing masks onboard yesterday, as debate intensifies over how to get airlines flying while respecting social-distancing rules following the corona-virus crisis.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) told reporters that wearing masks would help protect passenger health but came out against leaving middle seats empty on aircraft, a measure it had previously said was likely.

European flights have all but come to a standstill during the coronavirus pandemic. While there is no visibility on when travel restrictions will ease, airlines are considering how to safely restart services and give passengers confi-dence to fly.

Months without revenues is threatening to force some airlines out of business. Brit-ain’s Virgin Atlantic said earlier on Tuesday that it would cut 3,150 jobs as it battles to survive, adding to the up to 12,000 jobs British Airways said last week it could shed and putting

pressure on regulators to agree rules to help a quick restart when the health con-ditions allow.

IATA said it was working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations aviation agency, governments and the World Health Organisation on new rules which would apply internationally.

ICAO could make an announcement on mandatory face masks on flights and other measures in June, IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac (pictured) said at an online news conference.

In April, de Juniac had said leaving the middle seat empty was among the likely conditions for a resumption of air travel to be discussed with governments around the world. But Brian Pearce, chief economist at IATA, told the news conference on Tuesday that most airlines would have been unable to make money last year if a third of the seats had been removed on the industry’s most-flown models.

De Juniac denied that IATA had changed its stance because of the damage flying two-thirds full would do to airline profitability.

Norwegian Cruise Line seeks $2bn financing to shore up cashBLOOMBERG

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd is pledging ships and two islands as part of a plan to raise as much as $2bn to survive the travel industry shutdown.

The cruise line operator is tapping investors for the sale of $600m of junk bonds that may price as soon as yesterday and will have a maturity of four years, according to people with knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. The bond is being offered with a coupon of about 12.5 percent and may be sold at a discount to yield 13 percent, other people with knowledge of the deal said.

A representative for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which is leading the sale, declined to comment.

The financing also includes $650m of exchangeable notes, a public offering of $350m ordinary shares and a $400m investment by an affiliate of private equity firm L Catterton, which will be entitled to nom-inate one director to the com-pany’s board, according to a statement.

Norwegian said in a regu-latory filing yesterday that dis-ruption from the pandemic and debt maturities over the next year have raised “substantial doubt” over its ability to remain a going concern, assuming no additional financing. Norwegian also said it would delay its first-quarter earnings report. Prelim-inary earnings showed the company expects a first-quarter net loss of as much as $1.93bn.

The company’s shares fell as much as 24 percent to $11.03 in New York trading and were down 75 percent this year through Monday’s close.

Norwegian said the junk bond will be secured by first-pri-ority claims on two of the com-pany’s vessels, two islands used in the operations of its business and intellectual property. The debt has already received sig-nificant interest from investors, Bloomberg News previously reported.

Read more: Norwegian Cruise pledges islands and ships in bond sale talks

The new exchangeable notes are expected to carry a 20 percent to 25 percent con-version premium with a coupon

between 5.75 percent and 6.25 percent, according to terms reviewed by Bloomberg. The stock sale does not have an offering range. Both are expected to price Tuesday evening in New York.

Norwegian’s revenue has been squeezed as governments around the world instruct their residents to stay at home for all but essential travel to stem the spread of COVID-19. It has

suspended cruises until at least June 30, recently furloughed about 20 percent of its work-force and is burning about $110m to $150m of cash each month, according to an April 27 news release.

The company’s 3.625 percent unsecured notes due in 2024 have fallen to distressed levels. They last traded at 64.125 cents on the dollar -- from above par in late February

-- for a yield of 14.6 percent, according to Trace data.

Norwegian is also improving liquidity by an addi-tional $1bn through a series of amendments on existing loans that allows the company to defer certain debt payments, according to a filing. Some of this relief has already been granted and some is dependent on the company successfully raising at least $1bn in

financing by June 30.“Contingent on completion

of the transactions, the company expects to have approximately $3bn of liquidity,” a spokesperson for Norwegian said in an email to Bloomberg. It will leave the company positioned to with-stand well over 12 months of voyage suspensions in a potential downside scenario, the spokesperson added.

A file photo of EPIC, one of the best cruise ships owned by the Norwegian Cruise Line Holding.

Virus might bring peak oil demand much quicker: VitolREUTERS - LONDON

Oil markets are at the beginning of a fragile recovery as coronavirus lockdowns ease, though long-term peak demand may be permanently eroded, Vitol’s chief executive told Reuters.

Russell Hardy (pictured), CEO of the world’s biggest oil trader, said global oil demand sank by 26-27 million barrels per day (bpd) in April and pre-dicts a year-on-year drop of over 8 million bpd.

“The market is going to flirt with optimism and pes-simism for the next two or three weeks,” Hardy said.

“The mist is becoming a little clearer. It’s a bit easier to see the future, so the market is more able to make an educated guess about what that supply/demand balance looks like. We haven’t had a monster rally. It’s just a statement that the worst is over.”

Yesterday, Brent oil futures were around $29 a barrel , up from around $20 at the beginning of last week.

More than 4 billion people are under some form of

lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, over the last week, some US states, India and several major European coun-tries have begun easing restrictions.

He also seems permanent demand erosion to be likely as humanity gets used to a dif-ferent behaviour patterns.

“Some commentators are saying; isn’t it nice that we can cycle up and down our roads, isn’t it nice that there’s no NOx (nitrogen oxides) ... there are some elements that have been good for health - perhaps not mental health - but physical health,” Hardy said.

“Taking that all into

account, do we go back to living as we did before? Therefore, has the trajectory for oil demand changed? If we’re all expecting a peak in 2030, 10 million bpd up from here, is that 10 now 5 million bpd?”

Various oil majors such as BP and Shell have predicted peak demand from around 2030 to 2040.

Jet fuel demand alone will account for a large chunk of demand loss due to the pan-demic, slated to be down 2-3 million bpd by year end from its pre-crisis level of 7.5 million bpd, he said, adding that airlines will use this time to retire old fuel-guzzling planes. Currently, Vitol pegs jet demand at 1 million bpd.

“The Opec meeting delivered what they could under the circumstances. Ini-tially, the market was suspi-cious about compliance but now their programmes look a lot more like the deal ... That negative sentiment on the supply side has been slightly abated,” he said.

To counter the crash in demand, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

and other producing countries hammered out a major pro-duction cut deal in which Opeccuts would be 9.7 million bpd for May and June.

North America alone will have cut over 3 million bpd of crude oil and natural gas liquids between March through to the end of May, he said.

Vitol expects stocks to con-tinue building into early June, reaching a total build of 1.3 to 1.5 billion barrels since January 1, before ships start de-stocking in July. Looking further ahead, Hardy said cuts to capital and operational expenditure by oil majors will help boost the recovery for several years as supply will tighten.

“Those cuts in turn help some kind of recovery in years to come because mega projects don’t get sanctioned and won’t come onstream in 2022/23 but in 2024/25,” he said.

Russell Hardy, CEO of the world’s biggest oil trader, said global oil demand sank by 26-27 million barrels per day (bpd) in April and predicts a year-on-year drop of over 8 million bpd.

Capitalworks’ fundplanning to buy SAfirms hit by virusBLOOMBERG

Capitalworks Investment Partners Pty Ltd plans to invest 5 billion rand ($270 m) of newly raised cash in mid-sized South African companies hit by a shrinking local economy and the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm raised 25 percent more than planned for its Private Equity Fund III from Morgan Stanley’s Alternative Investments Partners unit, institutional investors and wealthy families, Capitalworks founder Chad Smart said. The Johannesburg-based company is seeking businesses with enterprise values from 250 million rand to 4 billion rand in industries such as financial services, food, and health.

“There are high-quality busi-nesses that are unduly punished by the virus that would usually use a crisis to gain market share,” he said in an interview. “With the coronavirus, a number of them don’t have turnover coming in, it’s an unusual situ-ation. The liquidity and growth-capital need means that you can find the best companies to invest in.” Africa’s most-industrialized

economy was in a recession even before measures to contain the coronavirus brought busi-nesses to an abrupt halt.

That has also opened oppor-tunities in industries like tourism, which has been espe-cially hard hit by travel curbs, and alternative health care as people look for ways to protect their immune systems, Smart said.

“The investment will have a knock-on effect of another 5 to 10 billion rand on top of the money raised” as debt is typi-cally used to leverage deal sizes, he said. New York-based Morgan Stanley’s AIP unit focuses on investments in sectors and markets like small- and medium-sized businesses in South Africa, which, while rel-atively under-capitalized, offer “compelling potential for returns,” said Vikram Raju, the head of the bank’s AIP’s emerging market and impact division.

Prior investments by Capi-talworks include Rhodes Food Group, mining company Rosond Pty Ltd. and Minet Group, a pan-African insurance brokerage.

04 WEDNESDAY 6 MAY 2020BUSINESS

German court hands ECB three-month ultimatum to justify stimulus schemeREUTERS - FRANKFURT

Germany’s top court yesterday gave the European Central Bank (ECB) three months to justify bond purchases under its flagship stimulus programme or lose the Bundesbank as a participant, raising questions about both the scheme and the euro’s future.

The verdict dealt a blow to the unprecedented €2-trillion-purchase scheme that helped kickstart the euro zone economy after its financial and debt crises of a decade ago, but which critics argue has flooded markets with cheap money and encouraged over-spending by some governments.

It also put the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe at logger-heads with the European Court of Justice, the highest court in matters of European Union law and which had cleared the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) in 2018.

As European bonds and the euro fell, the EU’s executive com-mission reaffirmed “the primacy of EU law” within the bloc, and an ECB spokesman said the bank’s governing council would hold an unscheduled meeting later in the day.

The Karlsruhe court judges left leeway for the Bundesbank - the biggest participant in PSPP - to continue in the scheme if the

ECB could show was necessary, despite “negative effects” such as risking taxpayer money and making governments reliant on central bank funding.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (pictured) said the three months granted to the ECB to demonstrate the necessity of the scheme was “quite a long time period”, and the Bun-desbank could stay in it for the time being.

The ECB’s separate pan-demic-fighting purchase scheme - a €750bn ($815) programme approved last month to prop up the coronavirus-stricken euro area economy - remained unaf-fected, as the Constitutional Court said its decision did not apply to that.

PSPP, meanwhile, currently accounts for less than a quarter

of the ECB’s monthly bond purchases.

The court said the Bun-desbank could no longer be part of it “unless the ECB Governing Council adopts a new decision that demonstrates...the PSPP (transactions) are not dispropor-tionate to the economic and fiscal policy effects,” the judges said.

The judges added the German central bank must also sell the bonds already bought, which were worth €533.9bn at the end of April, albeit based “on a - possibly long-term - strategy coordinated with” the rest of the euro zone.

But they said the scheme did not amount to directly financing governments, which would put it in breach of European Union Treaties.

While the court did not spell

out the kind of proof it was demanding of the ECB, it referred to the effects of the bank’s policy “on virtually all citizens...as shareholders, tenants, real estate owners, savers or insurance policy holders”.

The ECB has credited its stimulus efforts with creating 11 million jobs since 2013, but critics have said it has helped to create bubbles in real estate and depressed returns on safe invest-ments such as pension schemes, savings accounts and gov-ernment bonds.

Commerzbank economist Joerg Kraemer expected the ECB to easily convince the judges that the benefits of its purchases far outweighed the costs.

“With its armada of spe-cialists, it will be easy for the ECB to carry out such a check,” Kraemer said. “The ECB’s bond purchases will continue. Today’s ruling won’t change that.”

But Luis Garicano, a Spanish liberal member of the European Parliament, said the ruling posed a threat to the future of EU institutions.

“Europe cannot work if national Constitutional Courts decide unilaterally... Expect Hungary´s and Poland´s consti-tutional court to follow this prec-edent,” he said in a Twitter posting.

The Karlsruhe judges

decided they were not bound by the earlier ruling as the ECJ had failed to scrutinise the ECB’s actions to the point of making its own verdict “meaningless”.

While the ECB defers to the EU court, the Bundesbank is subject to German courts.

“As there’s no hierarchy between national courts and the EU court of justice, both of their jurisprudence stand,” said Alberto Alemanno, a professor of EU law at the HEC business school in Paris

“Tuesday’s ruling must be interpreted as a clear warning by the German court to EU consti-tutional order to stay within its own boundaries,” he added.

Amassing nearly 3 trillion euros of bonds since 2015, the ECB has relied on asset pur-chases to support the economy through crises and a threat of deflation.

But a group of academics in Germany has long argued that the ECB is overstepping its mandate, and that these buys constitute direct financing of governments.

With much of the euro zone now in lockdown to halt the spread of the virus, the ECB plans to print another 1 trillion euros to run the pandemic-fighting programme and help keep bor-rowing costs down for com-panies and governments.

South African airline Comair enters business rescueREUTERS - JOHANNESBURG

Comair said yesterday that it has entered voluntary business rescue - South Africa’s bankruptcy protection process - after a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus forced air-lines to suspend all com-mercial flights.

Comair, which operates the British Airways franchise in South Africa and owns budget airline Kulula, is the first local airline to file for business rescue as a result of the coronavirus.

It joins embattled state-owned South African Airways (SAA), which fi led in December, while state-owned SA Express was placed under “provisional liquidation” on Tuesday by a court after the airline’s administrators said rescue efforts that began in February weren’t likely to succeed.

Comair CEO Wrenelle Stander, said the firm, which reported a half-year loss of

564 million rand ($30.73m) in February, faced an unprece-dented situation following the five-week-long coronavirus lockdown, which was partially lifted from May 1.

Stander said the only responsible decision in response to the travel restric-

tions is to apply for bank-ruptcy protection.

“Now that the phased lockdown has been extended, the grounding is likely to endure until October or even November. These extraor-dinary circumstances have completely eroded our

revenue base while we are still obliged to meet fixed overhead costs,” he said in a statement.

The airline was granted approval to suspend the trading of its shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with immediate effect.

A file photo of Kulula airline (Boeing 737), a budget airline owned by Comair, which also operates the British Airways franchise in South Africa.

Demand, jobsin US serviceindustries collapse inAprilBLOOMBERG

Demand and employment in US service industries collapsed in April, adding to signs of an historic economic contraction this quarter caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Measures of business activity, new orders and employment all fell to record lows last month in figures going back to 1997, according to survey data from the Institute for Supply Man-agement yesterday. The indus-tries in ISM’s report represent about 90 percent of the economy.

With similar plunges recorded in ISM’s manufac-turing gauges released last week, the figures underscore an economy shrinking at a pace without modern precedent. The group’s gauge of services employment dropped by 17 points to 30 ahead of gov-ernment figures due Friday that are forecast to show more than 20 million job losses last month.

“I don’t anticipate there will be a V-shaped recovery,” Anthony Nieves, chairman of the group’s non-manufac-turing business survey com-mittee, said on a call with reporters.

Lira edges toward all-time low as Turkey targets economic revivalREUTERS - ISTANBUL

The Turkish lira fell for a fourth straight session yesterday and headed toward record lows, as investors fretted about fallout from the coronavirus pandemic even as Ankara set out plans to revive the hard-hit economy.

Turkey’s Treasury took advantage of a recent drop in yields to sell some $1.6bn in debt, while the central bank raised forex-lira swap market trans-action limits to 40 percent from 30 percent, bankers told Reuters.

The lira -- which hit an all-time low of 7.24 during a cur-rency crisis in August 2018 - weakened 0.7 percent to 7.0900.

It has fallen 16 percent this year amid the COVID-19 out-break, which has killed 3,461 people. New cases have fallen in recent days, clearing the way for Ankara to begin easing con-tainment measures.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the government was lifting inter-city travel restrictions in seven provinces and easing a curfew imposed on senior and youth citizens.

Shopping malls, barber shops and some stores will be allowed to open on May 11 provided they abide by so-called normalisation rules. Universities would return to their academic calendar on June 15 under the plan.

Some medical and business leaders cautioned against moving too quickly, but others said they were ready. The industry min-istry said most auto factories had resumed production and that all major factories will have restarted by May 11.

“Our industrialists have an appetite to return to production (and) I think the wheels of industry will begin to turn in June,” Istanbul Chamber of Industry Chairman Erdal

Bahcivan (pictured) said in an online meeting.

Yet Sinan Adiyaman, chairman of the Turkish Medics Association, said in an online news conference that normali-sation measures needed to be taken to avoid jeopardizing progress made against the outbreak.

“The measures... need to be taken independently from market expectations and rather based on scientific, epidemiologist data and in accordance with a medical coordination,” he said, adding the slowdown in deaths and con-firmed cases was positive.

The chairman of Kigili men’s wear, Abdullah Kigili, said shops will not be ready to open in malls on May 11 but will rather target a June 1 opening.

After the Treasury borrowed some 9 billion lira on Monday, two more bond auctions were held yesterday, including 4.0 billion lira ($565m) of its new two-year benchmark bond to primary dealers in non-compet-itive bids, and 1.5 billion lira in a tap of a five-year CPI-indexed bond before the auctions.

The government also sold a net 3,309.3 million lira of the benchmark bond and 2,272.9 million of the CPI-indexed bond, bringing total sales on Tuesday to around 11.1 billion lira ($1.6 bn).

Philippines’ largest media company ABS-CBN Corp heeds order to shutBLOOMBERG

ABS-CBN Corp, the Philip-pines’ largest broadcaster previously attacked by Pres-ident Rodrigo Duterte, shut its television and radio stations to comply with a government order after its franchise expired.

The National Telecommu-nications Commission did not grant a license for ABS-CBN’s continued operations because it doesn’t have a valid fran-chise from Congress, the reg-ulator said. “We have done all the requirements for renewal, and we have not violated any

laws,” ABS-CBN President Carlo Katigbak (pictured) said in a live broadcast minutes before its main television channel went off the air.

The order issued yes-terday covers more than 20 radio stations and over 50 TV and digital TV stations, and can only be stopped by a restraining order from the court, NTC Deputy Commis-sioner Edgardo Cabarios told DZMM radio.

The broadcaster has drawn the ire of Duterte for allegedly refusing to air his political advertisements during the 2016 elections. In

February, Duterte said he accepts ABS-CBN’s apology and said he wouldn’t interfere when Congress deliberates on the franchise, which expired on May 4.

The renewal of the fran-chise is within the authority of Congress, and in the absence of that license, ABS-CBN’s operation is entirely up to the NTC, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said yesterday.

In 1972, ABS-CBN and its affiliate stations were shut down and its owners removed after the Philippines was placed under military rule by

former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

A hearing on ABS-CBN’s case will be scheduled once the lockdown in the Phil-ippine capital region and nearby areas is lifted, the NTC said. It gave the broadcaster 10 days to explain why its fre-quencies shouldn’t be recalled.

US trade deficit widens in March on record export dropAFP - WASHINGTON

US exports plunged 9.6 percent in March -- the biggest monthly decline on record -- increasing the trade deficit to $44.4bn as the coronavirus pandemic dis-rupted global commerce, according to government data released yesterday.

While widespread business shutdowns in the United States did not take hold until later in the month as cities and states

imposed lockdowns to try to contain the spread of the virus, transportation disruptions began earlier overseas.

Imports into the US also fell, but only by 6.2 percent com-pared to February, as transpor-tation and shipping began to close down worldwide, causing the trade gap to jump nearly 12 percent from $39.9bn in Feb-ruary, the Commerce Department reported.

“The declines in March

exports and imports were, in part, due to the impact of COVID-19, as many businesses were operating at limited capacity or ceased operations completely, and the movement of travelers across borders was restricted,” the report said.

Exports fell by $20bn to $187.7bn, while imports fell to $232bn, according to the report.

Analysts had been expecting a rebound in US trade after Washington and Beijing signed

a partial deal in January that relieved some of their nearly two-year long tariff battle, but the pandemic has upended that progress.

“That’s all gone, and the col-lapse in global trade flows is hitting exports too,” said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

“We expect a further drop in both exports and imports in April, and then a modest rebound should begin in May,”

he wrote in an analysis.The data showed a stunning

$7.5bn drop in travel and $2.6bn fall in transport.

But James Watson of Oxford Economics warned “the worst of the shock is yet to come.” “As demand at home and abroad is set to contract at a record pace in the second quarter, imports and exports are likely to col-lapse even deeper,” he said in an analysis. “We expect trade activity to plunge far further

than in the financial crisis, as export and import volumes both fall 17 percent in 2020.” The declines were seen across all categories, including a $1bn drop in crude oil exports, while consumer goods imports like cellphones plunged $4bn, and auto imports dropped $2.7bn.

Falling imports meant the deficit with China on goods alone fell $4.2bn in the month to $15.5bn, the Commerce Department said.

The verdict dealt a blow to the unprecedented €2-trillion-purchase scheme that helped kickstart the euro zone economy after its financial and debt crises of a decade ago.

05WEDNESDAY 6 MAY 2020 BUSINESS

Oil recovery gains steam on optimism that glut is waningBLOOMBERG

Oil is headed for the longest run of daily gains in more than nine months as production cuts start to whittle down the surplus and amid positive sentiment from more econ-omies easing their coronavirus lockdowns.

Brent topped $30 a barrel for the first time since April 15. Futures in New York rose for a fifth day, with Opec+ and other producers slashing output. The American crude benchmark has more than doubled from an intraday low near $10 a barrel last week.

Diamondback Energy Inc., Parsley Energy Inc. and Cen-tennial Resource Development Inc. on Monday became the latest Permian Basin shale explorers to say they were dialing back on production, despite Texas Railroad Com-missioner Ryan Sitton saying that OPEC-style production caps in Texas were not going to happen.

“We are currently seeing accelerating oil-production curtailments outside the Opec+ countries,” said DNB analyst Helge Andre Martinsen

(pictured). “Even though the oil-market balance still looks quite oversupplied in the very short-term, we believe this is about to change quite quickly.” In oil options markets, sen-timent is also starting to improve. The premium of bearish put options over bullish calls is heading for its smallest close since early March, a sign of diminished pessimism among investors. The discount on crude for June delivery rel-ative to July, a structure known as contango, tightened to its narrowest in about a month, indicating that concerns about

oversupply may be easing.Morgan Stanley says the

supply glut has probably hit its peak, though the market will likely remain oversupplied for several weeks. Inventories in China appeared to have peaked, according to satellite data, and the US, Russia and Brazil are showing signs of a rebound in driving.

There are also early signs that the plunge in fuel con-sumption caused by the spread of the coronavirus might have bottomed out in some markets, prompting US President Donald Trump to tweet on Tuesday: “Oil prices moving up nicely as demand begins again!” Nevertheless, a sub-stantial glut of crude remains, with supplies from the Middle East soaring to their highest level since at least January 2017 last month.

The countries, which account for about 70 percent of Opec’s production, shipped a combined average of 18.9 million barrels a day of crude and condensate in April, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s 2 million barrels a day more than

revised March levels.Meanwhile, Reuters

reported oil prices soared higher yesterday on hopes for a recovery in vehicle traffic and fuel demand as some European and Asian countries along with several U.S. states began to ease coronavirus lockdown measures.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 18.1%, or $3.68, at $24.07 per barrel at 1400 GMT. The U.S. benchmark has closed higher for the last four sessions.

Brent crude futures were up 11.4%, or $3.11, at $30.31.

Italy, Spain, Nigeria and India, together with Ohio and other US states, began allowing some people to go back to work and opened up con-struction sites, parks and libraries.

US President Donald Trump yesterday praised the rise in oil prices and hailed measures by the states to reopen their economies, a reversal from anger he has fre-quently mooted throughout his administration at price rises as the US shale industry confronts unprecedented pain.

Fiat Chrysler plunges to loss, but no change to PSA dealREUTERS — MILAN

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) plunged to a first-quarter loss of $1.8bn and scrapped its full-year earnings forecast yesterdayy, as the automaker grapples with a coronavirus crisis that has hammered production and sales.

The Italian-American company, which has struck a binding merger deal with France’s PSA Group to create the world’s fourth largest car-maker, said it remained com-mitted to the tie-up, despite “unexpected and unprece-dented times”.

On a conference call, FCA Chief Executive Michael Manley said “the terms of the deal have not changed” and FCA remained “committed to completing the transaction by the end of this year or early 2021.” Car sales across the world have slumped as measures to contain the coro-navirus pandemic forced pro-duction lines to shut and show-rooms to close, leaving manu-facturers scrambling to try to conserve cash.

Manley said a planned €1.1bn dividend was under

review, as part of FCA’s efforts.The company has begun

reopening plants in China and Europe, and said most of its North American ones were expected to reopen on May 18.

Much of FCA’s revenue and profit comes from North America, where quarterly sales of its Ram truck brand were up 7 percent from the previous year and its share of the full-size pickup market rose to 24 percnet.

Capital expenditure (capex) was up in the quarter, driven by spending on the new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wag-oneer, and redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee models. But executives said full-year capex estimates would be trimmed by €1bn as key programme launches had been delayed by an average three months.

FCA said it made a net loss from continuing operations of €1.69bn ($1.83bn) in the quarter. That compared with a €508m net profit a year earlier.

“The pandemic has had, and continues to have, a signif-icant impact on our opera-tions,” the company said in a statement.

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

QE Index 8,799.73 +1.52 %

QE Total Return Index 16,917.18 +1.52 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index - Price 1,938.14 +1.71 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,456.77 +1.71 %

QE All Share Index 2,739.46 +1.65 %

QE All Share Banks &

Financial Services 3,864.98 +1.41 %

QE All Share Industrials 2,331.57 +2.26 %

QE All Share Transportation 2,765.35 +2.64 %

QE All Share Real Estate 1,393.54 +4.66 %

QE All Share Insurance 2,004.16 +0.42 %

QE All Share Telecoms 818.20 +0.47 %

QE All Share Consumer

Goods & Services 7,058.61 +0.73 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

05-05-2020Index 8,799.73

Change +131.67

% +1.52%

YTD% -15.59

Volume 406,500,974

Value (QAR) 513,481,586.93

Trades 12,558

Up 41 | Down 02 | Unchanged 0404-05-2020Index 8,668.06

Change -19.53

% -0.22%

YTD% -16.86

Volume 275,472,305

Value (QAR) 403,802,666.10

Trades 11,585

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR202.8618 grammeSILVER QR1.7958 per gramme

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

CAC 40 Index/D 3176.13 -0.06 0 4169.87 2979.87

DAX - Composit/D 531.14 8.71 1.67 667.98 485.74

DJ Indu Average 0 0 0 12876 9936.39

Egypt Cma Gn Idx 675.91 13.3 0.95 1567.23 143.08

Hang Seng Inde/D 19783.67 452.97 2.34 24468.64 18868.11

ISEG Overall/D 2510.71 44.36 1.8 3037.89 2333.35

Karachi 100 In/D 11311.29 276.37 2.5 12768.4 11032.2

Nikkei 225 Index 9038.74 94.26 1.05 10891.6 8227.63

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

Straits Times/D 2821.09 -62.91 -2.18 3280.77 2847

Currency Buying (QAR) Selling (QAR)US$ 3.6305 3.6500

Pound Sterlig 4.4682 4.5313

Swiss Frnac 3.7067 3.7591

Japanese yen 0.03355 0.0342

Australian Dollar 2.2895 2.3346

Canadian Dollar 2.5502 2.6003

Indian Rupee 0.0474 0.0483

Pakistan Rupee 0.0225 0.0231

Philipine Peso 0.0712 0.0726

Bangala Takka 0.0425 0.0433

Sri lanka Rupee 0.0187 0.0191

Nepalese Rupee 0.0297 0.0302

South African Rand 0.1887 0.1925

Euro 3.8966 3.9508