Business

LONDON — Bitcoin tumbled as much as 10 per cent on Tuesday to below $4,500, bringing the world's best-known cryptocurrency's losses to 30 per cent within a week as a sell-off in digital currencies intensified across the board.

Other cryptocurrencies also skidded sharply, with Ethereum's ether losing 10 per cent and Ripple's XRP down 13 per cent in a largely sentiment-driven slide.

The latest move lower started this month after a period of relative stability, with prices of bitcoin having hovered around the $6,500 mark for several months.

"The euphoria has died and prices have consolidated with lower lows and lower highs. A lot of people have lost interest," said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at Forex.com.

Tuesday's falls coincided with broader drops in financial markets. European shares weakened following a big fall on Wall Street. 

As well as a general decline in investor confidence in the value of cryptocurrencies, some traders have also blamed the recent drop on fears that a "hard fork" in bitcoin cash, where the smaller coin that split into two separate currencies, could destabilise others.

Bitcoin was trading on Tuesday at $4,354.20, its lowest level on the Bitstamp exchange since October, 2017.

Bitcoin has now lost about 75 per cent of its value since peaking in December. 

A regulatory clampdown on cryptocurrency trading in early 2018 and a drop in investor interest has sent people scrambling for the exit. 

Cryptocurrency advocates say price volatility is to be expected, and that the need for virtual currencies which operate outside the mainstream banking system will outlast any short-term price falls.

The second and third largest cryptocurrencies, XRP and ether, were trading at $0.4451 and $133 respectively on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.

According to industry tracker Coinmarketcap.com, the total market capitalisation of virtual currencies is now below $150 billion, down from around $800 billion in January.

AMMAN — A trade delegation from the Republic of Korea on Monday explored the possibility of increasing business cooperation with their Jordanian counterparts, according to a statement of the Korea Business Centre in Amman.

The delegates, comprising representatives of seven Korean companies, met in Amman with Jordanian businessmen who have an interest in the Korean products and industries, the statement said.

The visiting delegates are manufacturers and exporters of power and electricity products.

Their manufactured and exported products include ignition output voltage devices for power plants, wind power and automation industries couplings, gas leak detectors and smart power pipe management systems, in addition to water treatment equipment.

During the visit, the delegation got acquainted with the Jordanian business environment.

Jordan has a stable business climate and modern legislation that work to stimulate and encourage economic activity, the statement said.  

The meetings are expected to result in trade partnerships and deals that promote economic and investment relations between the Kingdom and the Republic of Korea, according to the statement.

This visit, organised by the Korea Business Centre in Amman, is in line with the distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries. 

The Korea Business Centre, known as Kotra, works to promote trade and investment cooperation between Jordan and the Republic of Korea.

CAIRO — Egypt is looking to use its vast, newly tapped undersea gas reserves to establish itself as a key energy exporter and revive its economy.

Encouraged by the discovery of huge natural gas fields in the Mediterranean, Cairo has in recent months signed gas deals with Israel as well as Cyprus and Greece.

Former oil minister Osama Kamal said Egypt has a “plan to become a regional energy hub”.

In the past year, gas has started flowing from four major fields off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, including the vast Zohr field, inaugurated by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

Discovered in 2015 by Italian energy giant Eni, Zohr is the biggest gas field so far found in Egyptian waters.

The immediate upshot has been that since September, the Arab world’s most populous country has been able to halt imports of liquified natural gas, which last year cost it some $220 million (190 million euros) per month.

Coming after a financial crisis that pushed Cairo in 2016 to take a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, the gas has been a lifeline.

Egypt’s budget deficit, which hit a record 103 per cent of gross domestic product in the financial year 2016-17, has since fallen to 93 per cent.

Gas production has now hit 184 million cubic metres a day.

Having met its own needs, Cairo is looking to kickstart exports and extend its regional influence.

It has signed deals to import gas from neighbouring countries for liquefaction at installations on its Mediterranean coast, ready for reexport to Europe.

 Israel, Cyprus deals 

In September, Egypt signed a deal with Cyprus to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing before being exported to Europe.

Then in February, Egypt, the only Arab state apart from Jordan to have a peace deal with Israel, inked an agreement to import gas from Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs.

A US-Israeli consortium leading the development of Israel’s offshore gas reserves in September announced it would buy part of a disused pipeline connecting the coastal city of Ashkelon with the northern Sinai Peninsula.

That would bypass a land pipeline across the Sinai that was repeatedly targeted by militants in 2011 and 2012.

The $15-billion deal will see some 64 billion cubic metres of gas pumped in from Israel fields over 10 years.

Ezzat Abdel Aziz, former president of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Agency, said the projects were “of vital importance for Egypt” and would have direct returns for the Egyptian economy.

They “confirm the strategic importance of Egypt and allow it to take advantage of its location between producing countries in the east and consuming countries of the West”, he said.

Petro-processing dollars 

The Egyptian state is also hoping to rake in billions of dollars in revenues from petro-chemicals. 

Its regional energy ambitions are “not limited to the natural gas sector, but also involve major projects in the petroleum and petrochemical sectors”, said former oil minister Kamal.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla recently announced a deal to expand the Midor refinery in the Egyptian capital to boost its output by some 60 per cent.

On top of that, the new Mostorod refinery in northern Cairo is set to produce 4.4 million tonnes of petroleum products a year after it comes online by next May, according to Ahmed Heikal, president of Egyptian investment firm Citadel Capital.

That alone will save the state $2 billion a year on petrochemical imports, which last year cost it some $5.2 billion.

Egypt is also investing in a processing plant on the Red Sea that could produce some four million tonnes of petro-products a year — as well as creating 3,000 jobs in a country where unemployment is rife.

NEW YORK — The pound rebounded against the dollar on Friday, a day after a severe shellacking, as some investors were willing to bet on British Prime Minister Theresa May getting a controversial Brexit draft deal through parliament, dealers said.

Even as dark clouds continued to gather over the prime minister’s political future, many felt she might just get enough support for what she called “the best deal for Britain”, they said.

“The pound is holding on to its early Friday morning gains, on the back of UK PM May’s radio interview in which she said her deal was the best Brexit compromise the UK could achieve”, said Dean Popplewell, an analyst at Oanda.

In the late European afternoon, the pound was up around 0.6 per cent against the dollar, off earlier highs, but slightly down against the euro.

The British currency slumped 1.7 per cent against the dollar on Thursday, the biggest daily drop for more than two years.

But analysts warned that the outlook for the British currency’s trajectory was uncertain.

‘Short-lived’ 

“Stability in the pound... could be short-lived, with clamors for a vote of no confidence from Conservative Brexiteers meaning the political upheaval will continue as we end the week,” said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG trading group.

Meanwhile in European stock markets, Brexit fears kept prices down, with banking shares particularly under pressure “over concerns of a disorderly UK exit from the European Union”, said analysts at Charles Schwab.

Elsewhere, Wall Street eked out a split finish — reversing some earlier losses following hopeful comments on trade from US President Donald Trump — but still finishing the week sharply lower after a string of earlier losses.

Trump gave the major stock indices a bump in early afternoon, announcing that Beijing had made overtures toward resolving the US-China trade war so he might not need to impose yet more tariffs.

In New York, oil prices also ended lower for the sixth straight week but benchmark WTI crude was flat.

Exxon Mobil added 1 per cent while fellow Dow member Chevron grew 1.8 per cent.

“Oil and gas stocks are doing well, because oil prices are off their lows. We seem to have found a floor in that sector,” Chris Low of FTN told AFP.

Asian stock markets earlier swung throughout Friday’s session as investors weighed China-US trade speculation.

Trump said China offered a list of trade concessions as part of a move to smooth relations ahead of a G-20 summit where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Financial Times said the two sides were stepping up efforts and that US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had told business leaders the next round of tariffs would be put on hold. While Lighthizer’s office denied that, observers said the news still provided some hope.

WASHINGTON — Global retail giant Walmart is more upbeat about earnings for the year, despite tamping down expectations just a month ago, after posting sales growth across all its business lines and most regions on Thursday.

The company has been buffeted by investments and sell-offs as it tries to position the chain to compete in the changing and competitive retail and ecommerce sector.

"Each of our segments achieved solid sales growth," Walmart chief Doug McMillon said.

Just a month ago, the retailer trimmed its profit forecast for the year, but with improving sales and increased traffic in its stores, the company said total revenue jumped 1.4 per cent in the third quarter to $124.9 billion.

At the same time, the key metric of comparable store sales — those at existing outlets rather than new stores — rose 3.4 per cent in the US, as customer traffic rose 1.2 per cent in the three months ended October 26.

"Overall, we're encouraged by the momentum in our business and excited to be in a strong position to invest for the future as prior investments pay back," McMillon said in a statement.

The solid sales growth pushed the closely-watched earnings per share measure to $1.08 in latest quarter, beating expectations.

The company raised its estimate of fiscal year 2019 EPS by 10 cents to $4.75 to $4.85, just a few weeks after lowering the estimate following the acquisition of India's online retailer Flipkart. 

Company executives said the investment, like others in ecommerce, home grocery delivery and curbside pickup, have been key to keep the store competitive.

The chain now has 2,100 grocery pickup locations and is increasing delivery options so that "by the end of the year we'll cover about 40 per cent of the population with delivery through about 800 stores".

In addition, the chain saw sales growth "in nine of our 10 markets, including our four largest markets: Mexico, China, Canada and UK", according to the statement.

Walmex in Mexico led the way with an increase of 5.4 per cent in the quarter, while sales in China rose 2.2 per cent.

Investors seemed to be cheering the news initially, but by midday Walmart shares had retreated 2.2 per cent making it one of the biggest losers in the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Chief financial officer Brett Biggs told reporters the US-China trade tensions with steep tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods is something the firm "will manage through", regardless of what happens.

SINGAPORE — Substantial progress has been made on hammering out a China-backed trade deal, Singapore's leader said on Wednesday, driving ahead the world's largest commercial pact which the United States is excluded from.

World leaders gathered in the tropical city state this week for a summit where a massive Beijing-backed agreement covering half the world's population has dominated discussions.

Diplomats have been trying to nail down details as Beijing entices its neighbours to join a commercial alliance seen as an antidote to President Donald Trump's "America First" protectionist trade policy.

The US has imposed tariffs on roughly half of what it imports from China, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies.

Beijing's leaders have recast themselves as the defenders of global commerce — with the United States under Trump relegated to the sidelines.

China, Japan and India are among 16 Asia-Pacific countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

"Substantial progress has been made this year to advance the RCEP negotiations," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday, adding talks were now "at the final stage".

"With the strong momentum generated this year, I am pleased to note that the RCEP negotiations are poised for conclusion in 2019," he added.

But he cautioned any further delays could risk "losing credibility" for a deal — which has already taken six years to negotiate. 

Trump absent 

This week's meetings are the biggest in a series of annual gatherings organised by regional bloc the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), and are attended by 20 leaders.

RCEP was given extra impetus after US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in early 2017.

That deal was spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama and aimed to bind fast-growing Asian powers into an American-backed order to counter China.

The TPP is still alive even without Washington — and will come into effect in December — but RCEP, if realised, will be the world's biggest trade deal.

However, the Beijing-backed pact is much less ambitious than the TPP in areas such as employment and environmental protection.

Beijing had hoped to have the meat of the deal done by the end of this year, but the timetable has now slipped to 2019. 

However, this has not stopped Chinese leaders from basking in the progress already made. 

During a meeting with Southeast Asia leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he was hopeful talks would "break through the ceiling" and take regional trade "to new heights".

Trump is not at the Singapore summit, nor will he attend a subsequent gathering of world leaders in Papua New Guinea at the end of the week, having sent Vice President Mike Pence instead.

TAIPEI/SEOUL — Shares in Asian suppliers and assemblers for Apple Inc. fell on Tuesday after several component makers warned of weaker than expected results, leading some market watchers to call the peak for iPhones in several key markets.

Following a poor forecast earlier this month, analysts and investors voiced concern over the state of Apple's business, contributing to growing worries that iPhone sales were stagnating and could hurt suppliers.

Fresh warnings on Monday from screen maker Japan Display Inc., British chipmaker IQE Plc. and Lumentum Holdings Inc., the main supplier of the Face ID technology in the latest generation of iPhones, hurt technology stocks in Asia on Tuesday.

Taiwan-based assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. (Foxconn) dropped more than 3 per cent. Rival Pegatron Corp fell more than 5 per cent but later recouped losses. Both companies count Apple as a major customer. 

The world's largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., fell 2.6 per cent, while Flexium Interconnect Inc. was down 1.5 per cent. The Taiwan Weighted Index was down around 1.6 per cent.

"Apple's iPhone weakness has been a long-term issue for the Asia supply chain," said Arthur Liao, an analyst at Fubon Research in Taipei. 

"For Apple, the iPhone shipment has reached its peak. For tech suppliers facing the future, they have no other big client like Apple." 

The Cupertino, California-based tech giant's shares fell to their lowest level in more than three months on Monday. 

Last week, a media report saying the iPhone maker had told its smartphone assemblers to halt plans for additional production lines dedicated to its new lower-priced iPhone XR had pressured supplier stocks.

Analysts said the lack of technological breakthroughs had put a cap on demand, which would persist in the coming quarters.

"With no new technology in sight next year for the supply chain, this is not ideal for the companies involved," said Nicole Tu, a Taipei-based analyst at Yuanta Investment Consulting.

"Up through the first half of 2019 we likely won't see any breakthrough." 

Lumentum on Monday slashed its profit and revenue forecast for the current quarter, while IQE warned that current-year results would be lower. Japan Display lowered both sales and margin outlook for the year as well.

No confidence

Apple warned earlier this month that holiday sales would miss Wall Street expectations due to weakness in emerging markets including India and foreign-exchange costs.

Among other Apple suppliers in Asia, Hong Kong-based acoustic components maker AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. slumped more than 6 per cent. 

South Korean electronic parts suppliers Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd., Apple's supplier of multi-layer ceramic capacitors, dropped more than 5 per cent, while LG Innotek Co. Ltd. plunged 9.5 per cent.

Apple said earlier this month it would stop giving the number of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers it sold in a quarter, a closely watched metric and a key indicator of the company's success.

The move led analysts to question the company's business and its share price has since dropped 12.6 per cent.

"[This] indicates that the company itself is not confident about its performance at the moment," said Park Jung-hoon, a fund manager at HDC Asset Management, which owns Samsung Electronics shares.

"Although Apple has positioned itself as a super-expensive handset maker providing high-end products, its strategy has not been working in emerging markets, including China and India as Chinese vendors have been making iPhone-like products," he said.

AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) said its board of directors and the board of directors of Royal Wings agreed to stop the operations of Royal Wings on November 30 this year, according to an RJ statement released on Tuesday. 

Royal Wings is an RJ-owned charter company. 

The statement said the decision was taken because of high operating costs, and subsequent losses incurred by Royal Wings over the past years. 

The task of promoting and selling the charter flights that used to be carried out by Royal Wings will now fall on Royal Jordanian's Commercial Department, the statement added. 

Negotiations are going on at this stage between RJ and two parties interested in buying Royal Wings, said the statement, adding that the process may take some time.

As for the employees working at Royal Wings, 12 of them, who had been seconded from RJ to Royal Wings, will return to work for RJ.

The other 95 Royal Wings employees were offered several flexible options, and after interviews, 18 employees were accepted to work for RJ as they met RJ’s job requirements.

The process of interviewing is still ongoing, according to the statement. 

Those who do not make it are offered voluntary release from service, which is an option that is also available to all Royal Wings employees. 

Under the terms of the release, a staff employee is given a half-month salary for each year of service, based on the employee's most recent gross salary, as per the terms and conditions of the collective contract signed recently by Royal Wings and the General Union of Air Transport and Tourism.

TOKYO — Telecoms giant SoftBank will list shares in its Japanese mobile unit next month in a sale that could raise over $21 billion and be one of the biggest tech initial public offerings (IPOs) in years.

The IPO will help raise funds for the company as it increasingly transforms into an investment firm, ploughing money into a broad range of companies and projects around the world.

The IPO will take place in Tokyo on December 19 and will offer 1.6 billion shares in the SoftBank Corp. mobile unit at 1,500 yen ($13) each.

That values the mobile unit at 7.18 trillion yen and the IPO could be Japan's biggest-ever, local media said.

The company had announced in February that it was going ahead with the IPO after media speculation about the plan.

It said then that the listing would give the mobile unit "greater managerial autonomy".

In its announcement on Monday, SoftBank said the listing would also help clarify the roles of the parent company (SBG) and its Japanese mobile unit.

"SBG is accelerating investments on a global scale, while SB is a core company to the Group's telecommunications business," the statement said.

"It is hoped that each of the two companies will be able to provide information regarding their businesses to the market with greater clarity and thereby better respond to the various needs of investors," it added.

After the listing, SoftBank will hold 63.14 per cent of the mobile unit.

Analysts at S&P Ratings said the IPO "would further underline SoftBank's transition to an investment holding company".

Under its CEO Masayoshi Son, SoftBank has transformed from its beginnings in software and is increasingly seen as an investment firm.

Using the SoftBank Vision Fund, worth an estimated $100 billion, Son has taken stakes in some of the hottest firms in the tech sector, including Uber, Slack, WeWork and Nvidia.

Nearly half the money in the fund comes from Saudi Arabia and SoftBank's close ties with Saudi Arabia have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Earlier this month, Son condemned the killing but said he would continue to do business with Saudi Arabia.

"As horrible as this event was, we cannot turn our backs on the Saudi people as we work to help them in their continued efforts to reform and modernise their society," he said.

He made the comments shortly after the company announced its latest earnings, showing an eight-fold jump in net profit in the six months to September — mainly due to strong returns from its investment funds.

ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter, said on Sunday it will cut oil output from next month, as major producers held a key meeting to discuss shoring up sliding prices.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih said his country was cutting its supplies by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from December. But Falih said ahead of the meeting of the Organisation of the petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC key producers that there was not yet consensus on a broader output cut.

Oil prices have shed a fifth of their value in just one month after surging to a four-year high in early October, driven by a combination of factors centred on higher supply and fears of sluggish demand.

The meeting of the joint ministerial monitoring committee in Abu Dhabi will not take decisions, ministers said, but will propose recommendations for a crucial ministerial meeting in Vienna early in December.

Among those attending were Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Oman's Oil Minister Mohammed Al Rumhi and the Energy Minister of host UAE Suheil Al Mazroue.

Falih told reporters ahead of the meeting that Saudi Arabia's "crude exports for December will be 500,000bpd lower than November".

The world's top oil exporter has been pumping 10.7 million bpd since October, he said.

The Saudi minister acknowledged that so far there was no fresh agreement on reducing production among OPEC and non-OPEC producers, who struck a deal in late 2016 to cut output by 1.8 million bpd to remedy an oversupply crisis.

"There is no consensus yet among oil producers about cutting production," Falih said at the gathering.

He insisted it was "premature to talk about a specific action", when asked about the possibility of an output cut.

"We have to study all the factors," Falih said. 

 'Surprised us' 

Brent crude dropped below $70 a barrel on Friday for the first time since April while the New York's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) sank below $60 a barrel, a nine-month low.

In his speech at the start of the meeting Falih said the recent sharp drop in prices has "surprised us".

He said the market sentiment has shifted from one of fearing shortages to one worried about oversupply.

He also attributed the sharp drop in prices to "microeconomic uncertainties", and signs of a build-up in crude inventories.

Mazrouei said that the goal of the OPEC and non-OPEC cooperation was to strike a balance in the market, adding that recommendations for possible action will be made to next month's ministerial conference.

The latest price slump comes as the United States has upped production of shale oil, while Saudi Arabia, Russia and others have raised supplies of crude amid signs of slowing demand.

There have also been signs of a softer-than-expected impact from US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

"Prices have been falling amid a continued rise in crude supplies from big producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US, more than compensating for lost Iranian barrels," Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada told AFP.

"With the Iranian sanctions not being as severe as initially feared, officials from the OPEC and non-OPEC producers may discuss at the weekend the need to bring compliance back down... or risk another 2014-style slide in prices."

Producers implemented large cuts starting at the beginning of 2017 and managed to push up oil prices from below $30 a barrel to over $85 in October, strongly improving their revenues.

But the producer countries eased the output cuts in June after signs of a tighter market and higher prices, allowing hundreds of thousands of extra barrels to hit the market.

Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest lender, said on Friday oil producers must act to prevent a free fall of prices.

"If they fail to signal any intention to reverse the latest increase in production, oil prices threaten to slide further," the bank said in a note.