Business

AMMAN — Chairman of Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI)  Ziad Homsi on Sunday urged Jordanian manufacturers to benefit from the services and programmes offered by The German Jordanian Economic Cooperation Office, which was established at ACI headquarters some two years ago. 

Homsi said, the office, supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation, has offered technical advice to 60 industrial establishments to enable them penetrate the German and European markets.

In a press statement issued Sunday, the ACI head said  Jordanian firms in the sectors of oil, medical waste and solar energy had made partnership deals with German counterparts over the past two years, adding that the office helped Jordanian industrialists in expanding their networking with German businesses, in addition to expertise and consultation exchange programmes. 

AMMAN — The Housing Bank announced Sunday in a press statement that it increases its pretax profit by 8 per cent to JD132 million by the end of the third quarter of 2015, compared with JD122.2 million recorded during the corresponding period of last year.

"Net profit after tax amounted to JD93.1 million, 3.2 per cent higher than the JD90.2 million in the same period of 2014," the statement indicated, noting that the income tax rate rose from 30 per cent in 2014 to 35 per cent this year.

Chairman Michel Marto attributed the results to the successful operations that relied on a prudent strategy. According to the statement, total assets went up to JD8 billion, an increase of 4.7 per cent from the end of 2014, customer deposits rose 6 per cent to JD5.8 billion, and net credit facilities portfolio surged 34.2 per cent to JD3.6 billion.

Performance indicators showed capital adequacy at17.5 per cent and liquidity ratio at 137 per cent, higher than the rates required by the Central Bank of Jordan. Return on assets came at 1.6 per cent, return on equity at 12.1 per cent, as the ratio of total loans to customer deposits was about 68 per cent.

AMMAN — Arab Bank Group announced Saturday in a press statement that it posted $615.1 million net profit after tax and provisions for the period ending September 2015, compared to $614.2 million in the same period of last year.

Net pretax profit amounted to $818.7 million." Shareholders equity reached $8.2 billion as of September 30, 2015," the statement indicated. "Loans and advances grew to $23.6 billion and customer deposits reached $34.8 billion." Arab Bank Chairman Sabih Masri said in the statement: “The results reflect the successful execution of the bank's strategy, despite the challenging environment, and the focus on core banking activities and high quality asset." Nemeh Sabbagh, Arab Bank’s chief executive officer, added that the results demonstrated the focus on a diversified business model and a prudent risk strategy.

The ratio of non-performing loans improved to 4.8 per cent and the provisions coverage ratio for non-performing loans was over 100 per cent, excluding the value of collaterals held. Loans-to-deposit ratio stood at 63.1 per cent and capital adequacy ratio  at 14.02 per cent. A court in New York set May 16, 2016, to implement a settlement reached to resolve a civil lawsuit filed against the bank. 

AMMAN — International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ) announced Saturday in a press statement a set of banking industry guidelines designed to help indebted businesses get back on their feet.

"The guidelines, which have been endorsed by the Central Bank of Jordan, will make it easier for financially-troubled firms to reach an agreement with creditors outside of the court system," the IFC said in the statement.

"The guidelines will give viable businesses valuable breathing room, allowing them to re-organise and emerge from the process stronger than before." “These guidelines will minimise the cost and the time associated with the settlement of indebted businesses, and therefore, increase the recovery rates for creditors,” said ABJ Chairman Musa Shehadeh.

In Jordan, settling a bankruptcy case through the court system can take up to three years. The guidelines are expected to shorten the settlement time to less than one year.“An efficient insolvency framework is vital to fostering a strong business environment and driving economic growth,” says Ahmed Attiga, IFC country manager in Jordan. The project is supported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland.

BEIJING — China's central bank cut interest rates on Friday for the sixth time in less than a year, and it again lowered the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves in a bid to jump start growth in its stuttering economy.

Monetary policy easing in the world's second-largest economy is at its most aggressive since the 2008/09 financial crisis, as growth looks set to slip to a 25-year low this year of under 7 per cent.

Yet, underscoring China's drive to deepen financial reforms which many believe are necessary to invigorate the economy, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said it was freeing the interest rate market by scrapping a ceiling on deposit rates.

The change, which Beijing had promised to deliver for months, will in theory allow banks to price loans according to their risk, and remove a distortion to the price of credit that analysts say fuels wasteful investment in China.

China's policy loosening came a day after the European Central Bank said it could give a bigger policy jolt to the economy as soon as December to fight falling prices.

"We've got half the world's central banks in easing mode," said Joe Rundle, the head of trading at ETX Capital in London. "And we'll probably see more easing from China to come."

The PBoC said on its website that it was lowering the one-year benchmark bank lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.35 per cent, effective from October 24. The one-year benchmark deposit rate was lowered by 25 basis points to 1.5 per cent.

The reserve requirement ratio (RRR) was also cut by 50 basis points for all banks, taking the ratio to 17.5 per cent for the biggest lenders, while banks that lend to agricultural firms and small companies received another 50-basis-point reduction to their RRR.

The late-evening moves come just ahead of a high-level meeting in Beijing starting on Monday where senior Chinese leaders will thrash out the country's economic blue-print for the next five years.

Investors in Europe took cheer and shares soared, while the Chinese offshore yuan fell against the US dollar.

"In the next step, monetary policy ... will be kept not too loose or too tight to ensure stable economic growth," the PBoC said in a separate question-and-answer session.

It added that China's current muted consumer inflation and falling market interest rates provided a window for the country to liberalise its deposit rates.

Sobering data

It has been a tumultuous year for China's economy.

A summer stock market plunge and shock devaluation of the yuan in August roiled global markets and fanned fears of a hard landing, prompting Chinese leaders to take drastic measures to assure investors they have the economy under control.

Friday's easing came minutes after Premier Li Keqiang was quoted on state radio as saying that China will make "reasonable use" of rate and RRR cuts to keep its economy growing at a reasonable pace.

Senior Chinese leaders do not usually comment directly on the country's rate or RRR adjustments.

The cuts came in the same week as sobering economic data for the third quarter that demonstrated the daunting challenges faced by the country's leaders, not least in achieving a growth target of around 7 per cent set by the government.

Data released on Monday showed China's economy grew 6.9 per cent between July and September from a year earlier, dipping below 7 per cent for the first time since the global financial crisis.

With Chinese imports tumbling for the 11th straight month in September and producer prices stuck in deflation for more than three years, some analysts say China's policy makers have their work cut out.

"We're still waiting for clear evidence of an economic turnaround," analysts at Capital Economics said in a note to clients. "We are retaining our forecast that benchmark rates and the reserve requirement ratio will both be cut once more before the end of the year, with a further move in both early in 2016."

According to a top PBoC policy maker, China will be able to keep annual economic growth at around 6-7 per cent over the next three to five years.

The comments from Yi Gang, vice governor of the PBoC, appeared to be aimed at reassuring investors this level of growth, China's slowest pace in two decades but still faster than other major economies, is the Chinese economy's "new normal".

"China's future economic growth will still be relatively quick. Around seven, six-point-something. These will all be very normal," he told a conference in Beijing.

Yi said China in the future would lower the reserve requirement ratio for banks, the amount of cash that major lenders need to keep on hand — at a "normal" pace.

"Our reserve requirement ratio is still at a relatively high level so there is still room to lower the RRR. In future, we will proceed to lower the RRR at a normal pace," he added.

Yi elaborated that the PBoC planned to keep interest rates at a reasonable level to reduce the corporate debt burden, and noted that interest rate liberalisation does not mean that the central bank would reduce regulation of rates.

China will also continue to set benchmark lending and deposit rates for some time, he stated, but these rates would not restrict market pricing.

Yi noted that China's stock market, which has fallen sharply since June, had completed most of its adjustments and that the yuan, which was buffeted in the wake of a surprise devaluation in early August, had "basically" stabilised.

"Following August 11, our original intention was to pursue market reforms. But after that, we realised there was a relatively big depreciation pressure [on the yuan], and so we decided to resolutely stabilise the yuan," he explained.

The PBoC was looking into leverage levels in the debt market, Yi remarked.

He said China did not have exceptionally high debt levels, and while the bank was not overly anxious about cutting the level of leverage in the economy, the overall strategy is to stabilise leverage levels.

"I want to especially mention this: I am now also focused on the leverage level in China's debt market," he concluded.

Separately, China is seeking to assert its growing influence on global oil markets with a yuan-denominated crude futures contract expected to be launched this year.

At the same time, analysts warn that the second-largest oil consumer after the United States will struggle to compete with more established benchmarks such as London's Brent North Sea crude and New York's WTI. 

"China is the world's largest oil importer and is going to become the largest oil consumer in the future, so it makes sense for the country to be the place for an oil futures [contract] in Asia," Lin Boqiang, director of the Energy Economics Research Centre at Xiamen University, told AFP. 

China's consumption will exceed that of the United States by 2034, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The country produced about 4.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) of oil in 2014, while the country's average net imports reached 6.1 mbpd. 

The influence of Asia, and China in particular, has been growing on international commodity markets in recent times. 

"China's vision is to have these commodity markets priced on its own exchanges," said Daniel Colover, associate editorial director at price reporting agency Platts. 

It is also consistent with China's gradual moves towards greater internationalisation of its currency.

The Shanghai International Exchange is working on a final draft to be approved by the China securities regulatory commission before a comprehensive mock trading exercise. Market participants expect an official launch by the end of 2015.

Liquidity is key

The initial target of the new contract seems to be local companies and foreign companies with large interests in China, even if trading will be open to international players. 

"Part of the reason China wants to launch this contract is to allow domestic hedging" that would protect against local price volatility, according to Wiktor Bielski, global head of commodities research at VTB Capital.

But the contract could struggle with liquidity, especially if it fails to attract foreign investors, as according to Boqiang, "there are not many players on the Chinese oil market, since the sector is highly monopolised".

The Chinese oil sector is dominated by the country's national oil companies and even if some private companies have emerged, their scope remains limited. 

"I don't know why someone doing business outside China would be interested, given the longer-established, more transparent and more liquid alternatives are already available elsewhere," said Julian Jessop, head of commodities at research group Capital Economics.

Two-thirds of the world's oil is currently priced against the Brent benchmark. 

Market influence

Some grey areas remain around plans for the contract, in particular the crude which is going to be used as underlying instrument. 

The derivative, or promise to take or make delivery of a volume of crude at a future date, will be based on a medium and sour crude, a quality favoured in Asia and imported mainly from the Middle East. Thus supply will likely continue to be influenced by external factors.

"A lot of people in the industry, a cross section of the oil market, trading houses, oil majors, producers, are keen to see how it behaves and how it is adopted," said Colover.

For Bielski, market adoption should not be a major hurdle. In fact, volumes on the exchange could develop very quickly thanks to retail investments, he said.

Plans for smaller lot sizes, 100 barrels versus 1,000 for Brent, seems to be tailored to retail investors.

According to Bielski, the iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, which influences the price of steel, did not trade for the first six months, but volumes then "exploded" on the back of "punters" trading. 

In China, the amount of liquidity available to retail investors with money is growing faster than the number of products they can invest in, he added.

"What if that same thing happens to oil? Chinese markets are going to become more dominant and more importantly they are going to export contagion risk," predicted Bielski.

VALLETTA/FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank (ECB) is studying new stimulus measures that could be unveiled as soon as December and is prepared to cut its deposit rate deeper into negative territory if needed to fight falling prices, its president said on Thursday.

Consumer prices in the 19-country eurozone slipped by 0.1 per cent in September, prompting calls for the ECB to expand or extend its 60 billion euros ($68 billion) a month of asset purchases. The programme was launched in March to help push inflation back to the ECB’s target of just under 2 per cent.

ECB chief Mario Draghi indicated that falling inflation expectations, driven in part by lower-than-expected demand for oil, have led the central bank to consider a wide variety of possible measures, including a deposit rate cut, to shore up inflation.

“We are ready to act if needed... and we are open to the full menu of monetary policy,” Draghi said. “The Governing Council has tasked the relevant committee to examine the pros and cons of various measures... The attitude is not wait and see but work and assess.”

Draghi added that the ECB’s governing council, which includes the executive board and the heads of the bloc’s 19 central banks, would be in a better position to make a decision once it gets new inflation forecasts from its staff in December.

He highlighted a stronger euro, falling commodity prices and a worsening of the economic conditions in emerging markets as the key risks that the ECB will monitor. A fading of the base effect from 2014’s oil price plunge may also have helped push inflation higher by then.

“In this context, the degree of monetary policy accommodation will need to be re-examined at our December monetary policy meeting,” he said.

Deposit rate cut

After stating a year ago that no further cuts to the deposit rate, already in negative territory, were on the cards, Draghi noted that was one of the instruments the governing council had discussed and may use.

“When expectations of inflation become more and more negative, we have higher and higher real rates,” Draghi said. “That’s one of the reasons why we considered other non-standard policy measures, one of which was the negative rate of the deposit facility.”

The ECB first pushed its deposit rate below zero in June 2014, effectively making banks pay to park funds overnight at the central bank. Two months later, it was trimmed to -0.20 per cent, and Draghi said no additional rate cut was possible.

He dismissed suggestions that this turnaround might dent the ECB’s credibility in financial markets.

“The credibility of a central bank is measured by its ability to comply with its mandate and to this extent any instrument could be potentially used,” Draghi explained “Given the conditions prevailing a year ago, that was the statement. Today things have changed.”

QE

Before Thursday, financial analysts’ core view was that the ECB would intervene in December or January to extend or expand its quantitative easing (QE) scheme, while few expected a deposit rate cut.

Draghi’s words strengthened those expectations but gave little away as to which tool the ECB was likely to choose.

“It was an open discussion on all the monetary policies,” Draghi said. “We have discussed some other monetary policy instruments besides [a deposit rate cut].”

Analysts have warned that upping the pace of purchases may create a shortage of bonds down the line and that extending the scheme may require the ECB to change some of the rules of engagement to avoid hitting technical limits.

These issues, along with the ECB’s failure to revive the market for asset-backed securities, have raised the prospect of an expansion in the range of assets that the ECB can buy to include corporate bonds or even equities.

But its direct involvement in private corporations could meet political and internal resistance.

In a direct call to eurozone governments to add their weight to a still-tentative recovery in the region, Draghi stressed that structural reforms and fiscal measures to stimulate demand were also needed.

“Monetary policy shouldn’t be the only game in town,” Draghi emphasised. “We have to address also the structural component of this recovery so we can move from a cyclical to a structural recovery.”

DOHA — Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said Thursday that his company is helping to create jobs in the US despite an ongoing war of words between Gulf and American carriers.

Baker, speaking in Doha, also said he trusted American regulators to put passengers’ interests first as part of their investigation into the funding of the Gulf carriers.

US carriers have launched a complaint that Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates break the so-called “Open-Skies” agreement through receiving government subsidies.

The complaint is being investigated by the US departments of state, commerce and transportation.

Three US airlines, Delta, American and United, claim that Qatar, along with Etihad Airways and Emirates, received $42 billion (37 billion euros) in “unfair” subsidies to wrest business away from competitors.

Baker though said his company is good for America.

“Qatar Airways and the other Gulf carriers are constantly creating new jobs for the Americans by ordering more aeroplanes and expanding our network as we add frequencies into the United States,” he told reporters.

“We are also creating additional jobs and contributing to the American economy.”

Asked what he thought the outcome of the Washington investigation would be, Baker replied: “I am not person that should answer this question... it’s entirely up to the American administration.”  

But he added that he had faith in the regulators.

“The American administration is evaluating all the complaints of the three American carriers and the decision will be with the American administration,” he said.

“The American administration at the end will see what is in the best interest of the American public and not in the best interest of the three American carriers,” Al Baker added.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A rental company in Orlando, Florida, is offering "halal vacation homes" with curtained pool decks and rooms with prayer mats and copies of the Koran. 

A British company's app lists gourmet restaurants serving halal meat in London and Dubai, while a Boston-based developer's app offers travel guides for 90 cities with local prayer times and a compass pointing Muslims towards Mecca for daily prayers.

The so-called "halal tourism" market was once seen as a niche revenue stream, limited to pilgrimages like the multibillion-dollar  a year revenue stream generated by Muslim travelers to Mecca.

But now there's a movement in the tourism industry to widen the "halal tourism" market to cater to Muslim travellers worldwide, particularly those from wealthy Gulf Arab states.

Travellers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman will spend $64 billion travelling this year and are expected to spend $216 billion by 2030, according to a 2014 study for the travel tech company Amadeus. 

The study found that, on average, a traveler from these countries spends around $9,900 per trip outside the Gulf. For Emiratis, the figure reaches $10,400.

Reem Al Shafaki, a senior associate at the advisory firm Dinar Standard, said Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Dallas and New York offer a good example of what hotels are doing to better serve Muslim guests. 

They provide halal meals upon request, have Middle Eastern chefs on staff, offer rooms with spaces that allow for gender-segregated settings and have trained frontline staff on other cultural norms.

Dinar Standard has conducted webinars for Marriott Hotel staff on how to take care of Muslim guests, but Al Shafaki says the hospitality industry can also market to Muslims without alienating non-Muslims. 

"What some hotels and destinations are doing is that they're using the term 'family friendly'," she said at a conference this week in Abu Dhabi, which brought people from across the budding industry to explore the topic.

Halal in Islam literally means that which is permissible. Observant Muslims typically avoid alcohol and areas where there can be excessive nudity, like beaches and nightclubs. For women who adhere to Islam's modest dress code, swimming can pose a challenge. That means resorts that offer gender-segregated beaches and pools have an advantage.

Roberto Silva of Florida Reality Investments says the company took 50 of its rental properties and outfitted them with a few changes, like curtains around the pool deck, to make them more comfortable for their many Gulf Arab customers, who often travel as large families to Orlando for several weeks at a time and want to be near Disney World and other parks.

"I would love to do more... Los Angeles and San Diego, there are a lot of people going there, and also New York," he said from his stand at the World Halal Travel Summit and Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

Along Turkey's southern coast, several all-inclusive resorts have expansive private beaches and pools for women. One resort even built a structure in the sea to keep people on boats from catching a glimpse. 

Malaysia is also aggressively seeking more Muslim tourists, promoting itself as "Muslim-friendly Malaysia" in brochures at the Abu Dhabi conference.

Elnur Seyidli, the chairman of a website called Halal Booking, says his company has served 43,000 customers from 75 countries. The website can filter requests to find hotels that do not serve any alcohol, or hotels that only serve alcohol in some restaurants. 

For meat, which should be slaughtered according to Islamic rules, the website offers filters ranging from food that is all halal, or halal meat available upon request.

"It's about permissibility... Nothing is 100 per cent halal in my opinion and nothing is 100 per cent non-halal," he told an audience at the summit. "Even for individual travellers for different trips, requirements may change."

For those not interested in a shawarma (grilled meat) wrap on the go, Halal Gems is an app that lists gourmet halal eats in London and Dubai. The app's founder Zohra Khaku says she's raised money by charging listed restaurants an annual fee. 

In Dubai, though, the challenge isn't so much finding halal food, but finding the best gourmet options, or as she calls it, "curated halal dining".

Irfan Ahmad is another app developer tapping into the Muslim market. His app, called Irhal, lists sightseeing and shopping as well as maps for mosques and halal restaurants. It also comes with a compass to help Muslims find the direction of prayer towards Mecca. 

The app, available in both English and Arabic, has been downloaded more than 25,000 times, he said, and covers 90 cities worldwide, ranging from Amsterdam and Athens to Beijing and Bangkok, as well as US cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, New York and Washington DC.

The idea was sparked by his personal struggles finding halal food in Europe, as well as not knowing when it was dawn or dusk in different cities, which affects Muslim prayer times. He's looking for around $1 million in investment to expand and include more cities.

"Just like any start-up, one of the biggest challenges is funding ourselves," he said. "We've been able to fund the entire project on our own by bootstrapping."

AMMAN — The unemployment rate in Jordan stood at 13.8 per cent during the third quarter of this year, according to Department of Statistics (DoS) figures.

The jobless rate among men stood at 11.1 per cent while it reached 25.1 per cent among women, the report said.

The unemployment rate among university graduates, including bachelor’s degree holders and above totalled 21.2 per cent.

The jobless rate among holders of secondary school certificates and above, recorded 61.7 per cent. Moreover, the jobless rate was 38.3 per cent among those who did not complete high school, according to DoS. 

AMMAN — Upon considering patterns and costs of travel in the region, it was obviously a viable investment to establish a low-cost carrier, an aviation investor told The Jordan Times on Monday. 

Adel Ali, chief executive officer (CEO) of Sharjah-based Air Arabia Group, said in an interview that low-cost aviation companies, including Air Arabia, have been the most profitable businesses in the aviation sector, attributing the success to being business focused. 

"We are determined to carry the maximum number of passengers and not to spend money on extras people do not want," he added. "Flying is not primarily for eating food." 

According to Ali, the price paid in the past by Middle East passengers travelling within the region was higher than that for passengers who were in transit. 

"More than 10 years ago, and prior to the introduction of low-cost carriers, there were only a few airlines serving the region, and they provided better prices for longer routes, making shorter ones more expensive," he explained.

So, for us, the fact that some people in the region were not even travelling was a good reason to insert the low-cost approach in the Middle East, Ali elaborated.

The CEO, who is Bahraini,  indicated that inter-regional flights is now easier and more connected prompting more people to travel.

"We launched Air Arabia in the United Arab Emirates in 2003 and the response was remarkable, because the country's multi-cultural population, 80 per cent of which come from different countries, always need to go back home and return," he said.

Ali was convinced that Air Arabia was a good choice as a name for the airline because that qualifies it to operate smoothly in the Arab world. The company has established hubs in Morocco and Egypt. 

Noting that the group had to position itself well geographically in order to link different areas in the region, he added that the low-cost carrier inaugurated in May 2015 a hub in Jordan due to Kingdom's closeness to East Europe.

"Jordan's membership in aviation agreements, such as the Open Sky Treaty with Europe allowing any Jordanian carrier to operate unlimited to any European airport, was a good reason for the group to set up offices in Amman," Ali elaborated.

Air Arabia Jordan has now flights to Kuwait, Jeddah, Erbil, Dammam and Sharm El Sheikh, with a new route to be announced soon to Medina Munawwara and another to Manama, he announced, noting that the entire group serves a total of 104 destinations in the world.

Aspiring to go for routes not run by Royal Jordanian, the CEO revealed that the airline applied to relevant authorities and was waiting for approvals to go for such destinations.

The group's hub in Jordan has a total of 100 employees, 99 of whom are Jordanians who can receive proper training to hold posts in other countries where group hubs have insufficient manpower.

"Over the past 12 years we simplified the aviation industry and contributed to stimulating the market where people who never travelled by air are now travelling every month," Ali  said.

He indicated  that the group has a fleet of 40 modern planes, two of which are based in Amman, and that another 40 are intended to join the fleet, noting that Amman's office operate some 23 flights a week, nine of which to Saudi Arabia alone.

"For us, we started with $13 million 12 years ago, and the group is now worth $2.6 billion," he boasted, describing that as a clear example of success in the industry.