Hassad Food buys stake in Indian Basmati rice firm ... - Qatar Tribune

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26 Thursday, April 4, 2013 Ministry probes into 62 cases of commercial fraud SATYENDRA PATHAK DOHA THE consumer protection department of the Ministry of Business and Trade has initiated action in 62 cases of commercial frauds committed in March. The maximum number of frauds was committed by giving false descriptions and information of goods. Action in 21 such cases has been initiated by the ministry. The maximum number of frauds was committed by giving false descriptions and information of goods. Eighteen cases of unrevealed prices of goods and services were found. While six cases of selling products that do not comply with the standards were registered, five cases of selling used and expired tires were found. The ministry also took notice of three cases where REUTERS DUBLIN prices were not stated in Arabic. Two cases of unauthorised sales and promotions were also registered. The ministry also registered two cases where wholesales firms were not selling fruits and vegetables to retailers through auctions in the announced place and time. In one case, the ministry found out that product specifications and details were not completely announced. In another case the goods were not refunded or changed. In another case the product specifications and details were not shown or displayed clearly. One case of non-commitment to show clearly used or updated goods and one case of selling product at higher price than announced were also registered by the ministry. In all, the consumer protection department received 389 complaints in March. The ministry has dealt with all the cases and transferred them to the responsible competent departments for further action. Royalty asked to make Elan bid by May 10 US INVESTMENT firm Royalty Pharma, which is considering a $6.6-billion bid for Irish drugmaker Elan, must make a firm offer by May 10 or walk away, Ireland’s Takeover Panel said on Wednesday. Royalty made its indicative approach, worth $11 per Elan share, in February, hoping to add hundreds of millions of dollars of royalty rights for multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tysabri to its stable of royalty streams. Elan has rejected the proposal and welcomed the takeover panel’s deadline, reiterating the “highly conditional indication of interest” from Royalty was opportunistic in its timing. The takeover panel said it had set the deadline following representations made by Elan and correspondence with the advisers to both Royalty and Elan. The approach by New York-based Royalty put into question Elan’s plans to return cash to investors and spend on acquisitions following the $3.25 billion sale of its 50 percent stake in Tysabri to partner Biogen Idec. Elan, left with only experimental drugs following the deal, will retain royalties of up to 25 percent on future sales of the MS treatment and announced last month it would give shareholders one-fifth of that royalty share. The Tysabri deal closed on Tuesday. The Dublinbased company, in which U.S. group Johnson & Johnson is an 18 percent shareholder, will next seek approval from shareholders to start a share buyback and hand back $1 billion to investors. Corporate Dossier Participants at the ‘Peak Oil’ conference, in Doha, on Wednesday. ‘Peak Oil’ meet begins TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK DOHA, THE ‘Peak Oil’ conference began on Wednesday in the cultural village, Katara. The conference has been organised by Forum of Arab and International Relations in cooperation with Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute. The event was attended by a number of prominent personalities from the field of oil, economy, politics and sociology. During the opening session of the conference, Director- General of Katara Dr Khalid Ibrahim al Sulaiti said in his A study will be held to discuss the nature of social and economic difficulties associated with “Oil Peak” phenomenon. welcome speech that the conference will discuss key issues related with oil in the region. The conference is trying to find solutions, suggestions and answers to some of the problems faced related to future of the oil and energy sector in the region. In addition, a study will be held to discuss the nature of social and economic difficulties associated with “Oil Peak” phenomenon. The second session discussed the scarcity of resources highlighting the “Properties of conventional and non-conventional oil reserves and their future production as well as Oil Peak approaches”. The session also discussed the issues related to production of oil by the US as well as its impact on the global oil market, oil prices and its peak. In addition, another discussion was held about techniques to convert coal and gas into liquid fuel as alternative energy sources to minimise the effects of oil supply shortage. The third session of the conference “Economic security: the challenges of conflict and peace” will discuss the economic instability in the Arab world. AstraZeneca buys US biotech firm REUTERS LONDON ASTRAZENECA boosted its early-stage pipeline of experimental heart drugs on Wednesday by buying privately held US biotechnology company AlphaCore Pharma, which is developing a new type of cholesterol medicine. The deal shows AstraZeneca’s new Chief Executive Pascal Soriot taking on more scientific risks by betting on a new and still unproven approach to cardiovascular medicine. Financial details of the acquisition by the British drugmaker’s MedImmune unit were not disclosed but the amount paid will have been modest since AstraZeneca was not obliged to disclose it as a material investment. Last month it revealed it paid $240 million upfront to Moderna Therapeutics to access its know-how in manipulating RNA, or ribonucleic acid, which helps create proteins inside cells - another example of Soriot placing a bet on new science. Soriot has stated that he plans to build up the company’s sparse drug pipeline by striking more deals with outside partners as he tries to restock its product portfolio following a wave of patent expiries. Cardiovascular and metabolic disease - one of three core therapy areas for AstraZeneca, along with oncology and respiratory/inflammation - is a particular priority since the company has few experimental compounds for such conditions. AlphaCore will help plug the gap, although it will not deliver any marketable products for many years. Its leading drug candidate ACP-501, a genetically engineered liverderived enzyme called LCAT, only completed Phase I clinical tests last year. Drugs need to go through three phases of lengthy tests before being approved for sale. The hope is that ACP-501 will help in the management of cholesterol to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It could also play a role in a rare, hereditary disorder called familial LCAT deficiency in which the LCAT enzyme is absent. MedImmune head Bahija Jallal said the end result could be new combination or standalone therapies for patients living with chronic and acute cardiovascular diseases. Top private equity firms likely to bid for Ista REUTERS LONDON/FRANKFURT THE sale of German energy metering firm Ista is heating up as a number of buyout houses including Axa Private Equity and BC Partners prepare to submit second round bids, banking sources said on Wednesday. Private equity groups Charterhouse and CVC Capital Partners kicked off the sale of Ista last year, hiring Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs to run the process. The sellers are hoping to tap into a growing appetite for deals among private equity groups sitting on large cash piles after a dearth of M&A activity last year, with Ista seen as a solid earner with growth potential. First round bids were submitted last month for Ista which has a price tag of around 3 billion euros ($3.85 billion), making this one of the biggest private equity transactions in Germany this year. Charterhouse bought Ista at the height of the buyout boom in 2007 for 2.4 billion euros from CVC, backed with 2.1 billion debt, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. CVC later bought back 24 percent. Axa and BC are due to submit second round bids later this month as are Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Wendel, bankers said. Bain Capital, Blackstone, Canada Pension Plan and Cinven are not going through to the second round. Apax expressed initial interest but did not submit a first round bid, bankers said. All potential bidders and sellers declined to comment or were not immediately available to do so. The successful buyer will need to write an equity cheque of around 1.1-1.2 billion euros and the rest will be financed with debt. Bankers are working on debt packages of around 2 billion euros or seven times Ista’s approximate 290 million euros of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, bankers said. There is enough liquidity in the debt markets to raise around 2 billion euros to back the buyout but senior leveraged loans, mezzanine loans and the high-yield bond . Barclays told to rein in pay of top staff, tighten controls REUTERS LONDON Customers use ATM machines outside a Barclays bank branch, in London, on Wednesday. (EPA) BARCLAYS needs to rein in pay for top staff and tighten control of its operations to repair its reputation after a string of scandals, a report commissioned by the lender said on Wednesday. In what Britain’s second largest bank described as “uncomfortable reading”, the review said the group’s rapid transformation from domestic retail lender to global universal bank created a sprawling set of businesses with their own culture and an emphasis on profit, sometimes at all costs. Investment banking leaders were ambiguous about right and wrong, the report said. “There was a very shortterm focus on profit which led to a problem with culture and values,” Anthony Salz, a veteran lawyer who wrote the 236-page report at Barclays’s invitation, told Reuters. “It appeared to emphasize financial performance rather than looking after customers. That was reinforced by the pay structures.” “If Barclays is to achieve a material improvement in its reputation, it will need to continue to make changes to its top levels of pay so as to reflect talent and contribution more realistically, and in ways that mean something to the general public.” Barclays, which is reviewing the plans, said it would report back on how it intends to implement the recommendations. The rock ‘n’ roll style rewards earned by top investment bankers at Barclays prompted an outcry among austerity-weary Britons last year after the bank was fined $450 million for its role in manipulating global benchmark interest rates. Barclays hired Salz, who is vice-chairman of investment bank Rothschild, to review its culture and business practices after the rate rigging scandal. His report, which cost the bank nearly 15 million pounds, made 34 recommendations with improvements in pay looming large, including a greater link to long-term performance. While Barclays has cut overall remuneration levels, compensation for the top 70 executives was consistently above the average at other banks, the report said. Barclays paid some 428 employees one million pounds or more last year. Since the report was commissioned, Barclays has appointed former retail banker Antony Jenkins as chief executive to overhaul its culture and focus. Salz said the bank’s long term incentive programmes, which have resulted in maximum payouts of on average eight times salary for senior investment bankers, remained overly complex. Barclays, which is reviewing the plans, said it would report back on how it intends to implement the recommendations.
Market Matrix Thursday, April 4, 2013 27 US recovery, Cyprus events hit gold; silver flat Traders on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, on Wednesday. (REUTERS) Global shares, dollar fall on weaker US jobs data REUTERS NEW YORK MAJOR stock markets and the US dollar fell on Wednesday after weakerthan-expected growth in U.S. private-sector jobs and services dented some optimism about the world’s largest economy, while investors awaited policy meetings by central banks in the euru zone and Japan. Brent crude slipped below $110 a barrel as oil stockpiles swelled in the United States, the top oil consumer, where a struggling economy is limiting demand for fuel. US private employers added 158,000 jobs in March, the smallest gain in five months and falling short of economists’ expectations. The report by ADP injected caution among investors about Friday’s all-important government jobs data. “The disappointing headline did dent some of the recent optimism surrounding the U.S. recovery and the overall improvement in labour markets,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. “While the ADP and broader non-farm payroll numbers have not had the closest correlation over recent months, investors are likely to go into Friday’s jobs report a bit more cautious.” Analysts forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls hit 200,000 in March, with the unemployment rate seen holding steady at 7.7 percent. A separate release showed the pace of growth in the vast US services sector slowed in March to the lowest level in seven months as new orders and employment measures pulled back. The MSCI world index slipped 0.2 percent to 359.42 points. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 26.45 points, or 0.18 percent, to 14,635.56. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 6.01 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,564.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 8.72 points, or 0.27 percent, to 3,246.15. European shares lost 0.5 percent after surging 1.3 percent the previous day, with heavy falls in the telecoms and mining sectors. The dollar index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of currencies, dropped 0.3 percent to 82.697. The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.2856, while the dollar fell 0.5 percent to 92.92 yen. The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are both expected to make monetary policy announcements on Thursday. Analysts said a recent run of weak eurozone data, political turmoil in Italy, and concerns over Cyprus could lead ECB President Mario Draghi to strike a dovish tone in his comments after the meeting. REUTERS LONDON GOLD prices fell on Wednesday, extending the previous day’s sharp slide, as the metal’s appeal as a haven from risk was hurt by speculation the US economic recovery is gaining traction and a retreat in concerns over Cyprus. Gold slid 1.4 percent on Tuesday, its biggest one-day drop since February 20, as stocks markets rallied in Europe and the United States. Firmer appetite for assets seen as higher risk, like equities, dented interest in safe-haven bullion. The metal hit its lowest since March 8 in early trade at $1,563.06, but clawed back some losses as the rally in European stock markets stalled. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,571.80 an ounce at 1203 GMT, while US gold futures for April delivery were down 0.3 percent at $1,571.70 an ounce. “Ascribing gold weakness to equity strength is shorthand for talking about risk appetite, and there’s no doubt that the ostensible solution to what’s been happening in Cyprus took away some of the short-term reason to hold gold,” Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said. “There is certainly a degree of optimism about the U.S. economy, and that should lead to some reductions in gold long positions,” he added. “There is scope for gold to strengthen if economic data isn’t as strong as people are hoping, but at the moment, there’s a lack of justification to buy in the short term.” European shares steadied on Tuesday as speculation of takeover activity among telecom stocks dissipated, capping its previous gains, while the euro edged up a touch versus the dollar. Financial market participants largely stuck to the sidelines ahead of policy announcements from the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank later this week, and Friday’s key US non-farm payrolls data. “With NFP figures due out on Friday, the (gold) market may not get itself too short in case of a bad figure,” Marex Spectron said in a note. “But overall, the trend is lower and the sentiment is negative.” From a technical perspective, Tuesday’s sell-off has left gold trading just above support at $1,561.55 and $1,555.55, the March and February lows, UBS said in a note. Gold slid 1.4 percent on Tuesday, its biggest one-day drop since February 20, as stocks markets rallied in Europe and the US. Firmer appetite for assets seen as higher risk, like equities, dented interest in safehaven bullion. “With the trending and momentum indicators pointing lower, a break below these would extend weakness to test strong support at 1,526.97, the May 2012 low,” the Swiss bank said. “Silver... is currently testing critical support at 27.01, the August 2012 low,” it added. “With the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) below its zero line, reflecting a bearish trend, a break below this would trigger a deeper sell-off to test next significant support at 26.50 and 26.16.” Spot silver was flat at $27.20 an ounce, off an eight-month low of $26.88 hit in earlier trade. Silver was at its cheapest compared to gold since August, with an ounce of gold now buying nearly 58 ounces of silver, up from around 50 ounces in late November. Mubadala inks $2bn loan refinancing deal REUTERS DUBAI ABU DHABI state investment fund Mubadala has signed a $2 billion loan refinancing, two banking sources said on Wednesday. The three-year revolving credit facility attracted a total of 19 international lenders, one of the sources said, and replaces a $2.5 billion loan agreed in 2010. Banks taking part in the transaction would be regarded by Mubadala as key relationship lenders, meaning they would be chosen for future fee-paying work, Kelly Thomson, Mubadala’s head of structured finance, told a conference in Dubai in January. Prospects for longer-term business for banks would mean the loan’s pricing would favour Mubadala, Thomson said at the time. The loan is expected to be undrawn by the company and the banks will be paid 45 basis points over the relevant benchmark, with the interest rate increased if Mubadala uses some of the cash, the second banking source said. Mubadala, which owns stakes in global companies such as General Electric and private equity firm Carlyle, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Indian shares fall 240 pts REUTERS MUMBAI INDIAN shares snapped a four-day winning streak on Wednesday to post their biggest falls in two weeks as auto shares such as Tata Motors were hit by weak March sales, while recent outperformers such as Larsen & Toubro retreated. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech earlier in the day urging business leaders to keep faith in his government’s efforts towards improving a dire investment climate failed to bolster market sentiment as he did not give concrete measures towards recovery. Singh’s comments also failed to resonate given continued political uncertainty and worries about early elections after the withdrawal of a key regional ally from the ruling coalition last month, dealers said. A redeeming factor has been foreign institutional inflows of over $10 billion so far this year. “The sentiment is cautious at this point. Given the political situation, some more downside is possible,” said G. Chokkalingam, Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer, Centrum Wealth Management. “It seems like even the FII investments this year also look at risk of being pulled out,” he said. The BSE index fell 1.26 percent, or 239.31 points to 18,801.64 points, posting its biggest daily percentage fall since March 19 and erasing a good chunk of its 1.9 percent gain over the past four previous trading sessions. The broader NSE index ended down 1.31 percent, or 75.20 points to 5,672.90.
Page 1 and 2: THURSDAY APRIL 4, 2013 SAMOAN AIRLI
Page 3 and 4: Global Economy Thursday, April 4, 2
Page 5: Bulls & Bears Thursday, April 4, 20

Hassad Food buys stake in Indian Basmati rice firm ... - Qatar Tribune

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