Business

DUBAI — A proposed reshuffle of state assets would allow Saudi Arabia to delay the listing of national oil giant Aramco until 2020 or beyond while still spending on economic development projects, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Late last week Aramco confirmed a Reuters report that it was working on a possible purchase of a "strategic stake" in local petrochemicals maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom's top sovereign wealth fund.

The deal could inject tens of billions of dollars into the PIF, giving it resources to proceed with its plans to create jobs and diversify the economy beyond oil exports, including a $500 billion business zone in the northwest of the country.

A major goal of the planned Aramco listing — which was initially slated for the end of 2018 and could prove the biggest IPO in history — was to raise money for the PIF, making the fund an engine for transforming the Saudi economy.

A SABIC deal would allow the government to buy time for the initial public offer of shares in Aramco, according to industry and international banking sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

It could raise roughly as much money for the PIF as an Aramco IPO, while giving the government more time to reach decisions on contentious aspects of the flotation such as whether Aramco shares should be listed on a foreign market as well as in Riyadh.

"The PIF will have more cash to invest and there is no need to IPO now," one of the sources said.

Aramco declined to comment on its IPO plans, and a Saudi government official did not respond to a request for comment. 

Aramco's Chief Executive Amin Nasser said on Friday in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that the SABIC acquisition was a complex deal and would need a certain timeframe to be completed, delaying the Aramco IPO.

"There is no doubt that the potential acquisition of a strategic stake in SABIC... will delay the IPO," he said.

Valuation

Final decisions on the listing rest with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed, the sources said. 

The planned IPO is the centrepiece of an ambitious plan championed by the crown prince to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy beyond oil. When he announced the plan to sell about 5 per cent of Aramco in 2016, he predicted the sale would value the whole company at $2 trillion or more.

Since then, however, many estimates by oil and gas industry analysts have been far lower, around $1-1.5 trillion, implying the PIF would receive a $50-75 billion windfall from the IPO.

The fund owns 70 per cent of SABIC, which has a market capitalisation of $104 billion. Aramco has not said exactly how much of SABIC it might buy but two sources told Reuters on Monday that Aramco aims to become a "majority" owner; buying the PIF's entire stake could give the fund over $70 billion. 

The PIF has officially reported assets of over $220 billion but most of that is believed to be tied up in real estate or stakes in big Saudi companies, which could not be sold without undermining the local property and stock markets.

The SABIC deal would put temporary pressure on the finances of Aramco, the government's main source of revenue. But higher oil prices this year have given Riyadh more money to play with.

Investment bank Jadwa forecasts state oil revenues of $154 billion this year instead of the $131 billion budgeted by Riyadh last December.

Crown jewel 

If the Aramco IPO eventually goes ahead, at least two problems will need to be resolved, according to several sources. One is the company's valuation.

Prince Mohammed's declaration of a $2 trillion valuation created a potential political headache. If the IPO produces a valuation much below $2 trillion, the Saudi public may conclude he is selling the country's crown jewel too cheaply.

This might be finessed by selling part of the Aramco stake in a private placement, probably to deep-pocketed strategic investors in oil-consuming states such as China. A placement is being considered, one industry source said, but that would take many months to finalise.

The SABIC deal would boost Aramco's valuation giving it access to petrochemicals assets domestically and abroad, the sources said. 

The other major issue is whether some Aramco shares will be listed on a foreign exchange such as New York, London or Hong Kong. Prince Mohammed initially proposed an overseas listing to attract foreign capital and lift Saudi Arabia's profile.

But some officials oppose the idea on the grounds it would dilute the benefits to Riyadh's bourse of hosting Aramco. And an overseas exchange could impose tougher governance, disclosure requirements and legal risks for Aramco.

These risks may have strengthened the case for a Riyadh-only listing. But an IPO in Riyadh alone might have to be smaller than 5 per cent because the market's capitalisation of just $535 billion would struggle to absorb a listing of Aramco's size.

That may encourage authorities to delay listing Aramco until after Riyadh's market enters emerging market equity indexes next year, making it more liquid. Entry could attract around $30-45 billion of fresh foreign money, funds estimate.

Riyadh will join FTSE Russell's index in stages between March and December 2019, and MSCI's index between May and August 2019. One banking source said some bankers had advised Prince Mohammed to wait until the arrival of foreign funds directly benchmarked to those indexes, since the funds could be counted on to buy Aramco shares as an index component.

ABEOKUTA, Nigeria — "Come, I'll show you what a potential billion dollars looks like," said P.J. Okocha, opening the door of a small, modern house in southern Nigeria to reveal a thousand yam seedlings. 

"These thousand plants can make three million seeds," he said, with a broad smile. 

At just 34, Peter Okocha Junior — also known as P.J. — is a high achiever. 

Okocha cut his teeth in his family's shipping and logistics business, then decided to forge his own path.

He identified Nigeria's agricultural sector as one of enormous potential where he can make the most impact. Today, he is a pioneer in hydroponics.

"I always knew I wanted to invest in agriculture but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do," he told AFP. 

"One day, I saw an agro-researcher on Twitter. I contacted him, and said, 'Hey bro, let's change the world together'."

His pitch hit home. In a few months, their company PS Nutrac was born. 

Two years later, tens of thousands of yam plants grow without soil, suspended in water in special greenhouses — a cutting-edge agricultural technique rarely seen in developing countries. 

One afternoon in June, young PS Nutrac employees were training a group of old local farmers on a new organic variety of yam. 

Farming communities have been gutted by an exodus of young people for big cities to carve out a living, said Chief Awufe Ademola, who is in his 60s and owns 3 hectares of land.

In rows before him, the old farmers sat with curved backs and calloused hands.

"With the average age of the African farmer hovering just above 60 years of age, it's imperative for the new generation to delve into farming," said Okocha.

"Nobody wants to do the conventional standing in the hot sun, and sweating and labour that comes out with that, therefore to combine it with data, technology and automatisation, it makes it more attractive."

 Food challenge 

Nigeria, which is home to more than 180 million people, is under pressure to produce more food. By 2050, it is expected to become the third most populous country in the world. 

After the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the 1950s, Nigeria's prosperous agricultural sector suffered a precipitous decline as successive leaders and investors switched focus entirely.

Decades have passed and with the collapse of the railway network, agricultural goods now have to be transported by truck on crumbling roads. 

There are not enough storage sheds; those that exist are mostly not refrigerated; and there are few processing plants.

That means huge amounts of produce go to waste in a country so fertile it can grow everything from avocados to cashews to corn. 

For example, about 4 million tonnes of citrus fruits are produced annually, according to US Department of Agriculture figures for 2009.

But up to 60 per cent goes to waste before getting to the final consumers in urban centres. 

Meanwhile, Nigeria imports $315 million (270 million euros) of orange concentrate a year, the bulk of national consumption.

"Opportunities in agriculture are beyond the imagination," said Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu, the proud owner of a 200-hectare palm oil plantation in the southeast.

"The future billionaires in Nigeria will be people investing in agriculture, tech and renewable energy, which are sectors that can create employment, not like the oil sector," said the 34-year-old, whose grandfather was Nigeria's first minister of agriculture.

 Starting from scratch 

Making farming profitable is not easy, though. 

The main problem for businesses is access to bank loans, which attract high rates of interest compared to other countries in the region.

"Access to finance is a big issue," Okeke-Ojiudu said, adding that banks ask for large amounts of collateral and charge double-digit interest rates for agriculture ventures. 

"So today, the people who are investing in this sector are already wealthy, already connected."

Okeke-Ojiudu was educated in the United States and England. Seyi Oyenuga also spent most of his life between Chicago and Washington before coming to his father's homeland.

Three years ago, he swapped life in the construction sector to settle in Oyo, southwest Nigeria and started a farm. 

On the four-hour drive from Okocha's farm, women pound dried cassava along the road. 

Nearly all the farms surrounding the sleepy villages have been abandoned. 

 Farming revival 

But a farming revival is taking place at Oyenuga's Atman Farm, where he is busy repairing tractors to plough the cassava fields. 

"We have to use old-generation tractors because people here only know how to operate them," he said, dressed in a John Deere cap, blue gingham shirt and a keffiyeh around his neck.

Oyenuga learned everything from scratch, including how to negotiate with local leaders to acquire property deeds, to teach employees the metric system and how to use tractors. 

"We learned the hard way," he said, speaking under a relentless sun after fixing up the tractors side by side with his staff. 

This year, he hopes to plant cassava on 400 hectares — five times the area of his first harvest last year. 

It is just the start. Ultimately, he wants to cultivate 2,000 hectares within 10 years.

"It's really been exciting, I've been able to do things that I've never imagined or thought were possible," he added.

ABU DHABI — China and the United Arab Emirates signed a raft of economic agreements on Friday as President Xi Jinping held “extensive talks” in Abu Dhabi that will strengthen political ties, the UAE said.

Xi met UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the second day of a three-day visit.

“We have substantial political and economic agreement and a solid base of projects in energy and technology sectors and infrastructure,” Dubai’s ruler said in a Tweet.

“More than that, [we have] a strong political will to start a larger phase of cooperation,” he added. 

China and the UAE already agreed on oil and trade deals in the runup to Xi’s visit.

The two delegations signed more “memorandums of understanding and agreements” on Friday, UAE’s Crown Prince Mohammed said on Twitter.

This takes the total number of memoranda of understanding and deals struck this month to 13, official UAE news agency WAM said.

A strategic cooperation framework between state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) was among the deals signed on Friday, ADNOC said.

The agreement “outlines opportunities for possible future collaboration across ADNOC’s upstream and downstream value chains and support for China’s growing energy needs”, ADNOC said in a statement.

ADNOC announced on Thursday it had awarded two contracts worth $1.6 billion (1.4 billion euros) to BGP Inc., a subsidiary of CNPC, for a seismic survey in the emirate.

The survey will search for oil and gas in onshore and offshore sites covering an area of 53,000 square kilometers.

Also on Thursday, the UAE’s state-owned DP World announced an agreement between the two countries to build a new trade zone in Dubai.

The project is part of China’s trillion-dollar “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure initiative, an ambitious plan to revive the ancient Silk Road trading routes with a global network of ports, roads and railways.

In a further sign of strengthening ties, Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties on Wednesday announced plans to build the Middle East’s largest Chinatown in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi is the Chinese president’s first stop on a tour which also includes Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa.

LONDON — Sterling fell below $1.30 for the first time in 10 months on Thursday as the combination of weak economic data and a resurgent dollar sapped appetite for the British currency.

Weak retail sales data for June painted a picture of a struggling economy against the backdrop of stagnating wage growth, weak inflation figures and uncertainty over how Britain’s looming exit from the European Union will play out.

That is casting a shadow on well-set expectations of an interest rate rise by the Bank of England at its August 2 meeting.

The lacklustre data comes moreover at a time when the dollar has rallied more than 6 per cent against a basket of developed G-10 nations’ currencies in the last three months. Escalating trade tensions, robust US economic growth and a confident Federal Reserve have all boosted the greenback’s appeal. 

“With fundamentals weak and a big question mark on Brexit, we think sterling can fall into the low $1.20s,” said Neil Mellor, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in London.

Britain’s June retail sales declined 0.5 per cent, defying expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase on a monthly basis. That saw sterling extending recent falls, touching an early-September 2017 low of $1.2974 and down 0.7 per cent on the day. 

That is despite the fact that on a quarterly basis, retail sales rose the most in over a decade, up 2.1 per cent on the first three months of 2018.

Many reckon this should give the BOE some confidence about raising interest rates next month — bets on a hike remain fairly entrenched, with expectations for a 25 basis point rise now at around 70 per cent.

That’s down from nearly 80 per cent earlier this week.

“The data is not that great but we still expect the Bank of England to raise rates in August in the backdrop of a tight labour market and may signal an extended pause after that,” Credit Agricole strategist Manuel Oliveri said.

The weakening economy, messy politics and the ebbing of rate hike bets beyond August have already crushed bullish sterling bets, with short bets against the British currency the biggest since September 2017.

That marks a stunning reversal from April when long sterling bets peaked at more than three-year highs. Sterling was then around $1.43, dropping almost 10 per cent since then. 

Brexit and bears 

Most of sterling’s losses have come in recent weeks as Brexit uncertainty has grown.

After narrowly escaping defeat in parliament over her plans for leaving the EU this week, Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled she will not drop a proposal on Britain’s future relationship with the bloc.

Fears linger that the country may crash out of the EU without a trade deal in place.

“Around 1.30, sterling is nowhere near to being fully priced for a worst-case political scenario, but participation in the pound is unlikely to climb much until that worst-case scenario looks a lot more certain,” said Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Financial Group.

However, the British currency’s performance looks better when measured against non-dollar currencies, suggesting much of its weakness is down to the broad-based dollar surge.

Against the euro for instance, sterling is only at a four-month low of 89.30 pence.

On a year-to-date basis, sterling is a middle-of-the-pack performer against the dollar with the Swedish crown and the Canadian dollar leading losers, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Against a trade-weighted basket of its peers , for example, sterling is at a late-November 2017 low. 

However, currency derivative markets are flashing warning lights. 

Three- and one-month risk reversals , a ratio of calls to put options, are trading at their lowest since June 2017, indicating traders are betting on more weakness. 

BRUSSELS — EU regulators hit Google with a record 4.34 billion euros ($5 billion) antitrust fine on Wednesday for using its Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals.

The penalty is nearly double the previous record of 2.4 billion euros which the US tech company was ordered to pay last year over its online shopping search service.

It represents just over two weeks of revenue for Google parent Alphabet Inc. and would scarcely dent its cash reserves of $102.9 billion. But it could add to a brewing trade war between Brussels and Washington.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager denied anti-US bias, saying she very much liked the United States.

“But the fact is that this has nothing to do with how I feel. Nothing whatsoever. Just as enforcing competition law, we do it in the world, but we do not do it in political context,” she said.

Google said it would appeal the fine.

“Android has created more choice for everyone, not less. A vibrant ecosystem, rapid innovation and lower prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition,” it said. 

Vestager’s boss, commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next Wednesday in an effort to avert threatened new tariffs on EU cars amid Trump’s complaints over the US trade deficit.

Vestager also ordered Google to halt anti-competitive practices in contractual deals with smartphone makers and telecoms providers within 90 days or face additional penalties of up to 5 per cent of parent Alphabet’s average daily worldwide turnover.

“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine. These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits. They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere,” Vestager said.

The EU enforcer dismissed Google’s argument of competition from Apple, saying the iPhone maker was not a sufficient constraint because of its higher prices and switching costs for users.

Android, which runs about 80 per cent of the world’s smartphones according to market research firm Strategy Analytics, is the most important case out of a trio of antitrust cases against Google.

Some major Android device makers, including Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd. and TCL Corp., declined to comment on the EU case.

Regulatory action against tech giants like Google and Facebook with their entrenched market power may lack sting, said Polar Capital Fund Manager Ben Rogoff, who has been holding the stock since its initial public offering and is broadly neutral on Google.

“The reality is that as long as they’re delivering great utility to their consumers, consumers will still use those platforms. If they do, advertisers will be drawn to those platforms, too, because the ROIs [return on investment] are very difficult to replicate anywhere else,” he said.

The EU takedown of Google is six to eight years too late, with users paying the price, said Geoff Blaber of CCS Insight.

“Any action by the EU is akin to shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted,” he said.

“There is a significant danger of unintended consequences that penalises the consumer. This ranges from increased fragmentation and greater app inconsistency to increases in hardware cost should Google decide to change or adapt the Android business model.”

Lobbying group FairSearch, whose 2013 complaint triggered the EU investigation, welcomed the ruling, saying it could help restore competition in mobile operating systems and apps.

“This is an important step in disciplining Google’s abusive behaviour in relation to Android,” it said.

A third EU case, which has not yet concluded, involves Google’s AdSense product. Competition authorities have said Google prevented third parties using its product from displaying search advertisements from Google’s competitors.

Vestager has also ordered a series of measures against other US companies over tax practices in some EU states, notably demanding two years ago that the Irish government take back up to 13 billion euros from Apple Inc.

TOKYO — Japan and the European Union (EU) signed a wide-ranging free trade deal on Tuesday. 

Both sides hope the deal will act as a counterweight to the protectionist forces unleashed by US President Donald Trump.

The ambitious trade pact, which creates the world's largest open economic area, comes amid fears that a trade war between the United States and China will diminish the role of free trade in the global economic order.

"There are rising concerns about protectionism, but I want Japan and the EU to lead the world by bearing the flag of free trade," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference after the signing ceremony.

The United States this month imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods to lower the US trade deficit and China quickly retaliated with an increase in tariffs on US goods.

The Japan-EU trade deal is also a sign of shifting global ties as Trump distances the United States from long-time allies like the EU, NATO and Canada.

"We are sending a clear message that we stand against protectionism. The EU and Japan remain open for cooperation," European Council President Donald Tusk, who speaks for the 28 EU national leaders, told reporters.

The deal removes EU tariffs of 10 per cent on Japanese cars and 3 per cent on most car parts. It would also scrap Japanese duties of some 30 per cent or more on EU cheese and 15 per cent on wines, and secure access to large public tenders in Japan.

Europe's food sector is one of the biggest winners from the deal, which should allow it to capitalise on Japanese demand for high-quality cheese, chocolates, meats and pasta.

Japanese car and car parts makers are also expected to increase their sales to Europe, where they have lagged behind European rivals.

However, Japan's dairy industry is expected to lose market share to European products once tariffs of up to 40 per cent on some cheese imports start falling.

Japan and the EU also agreed on Tuesday to establish a regular dialogue on trade and economic policy, with the first meeting to be held before year's end.

The dialogue will be chaired by Japan's trade and foreign ministers and the European Commission's vice president for competitiveness, both sides said in a joint statement.

Both Japan and the EU, having seen Trump pull back from free trade relationships, are keen to show they remain committed to removing barriers they say hamper growth, analysts said.

"Trade liberalisation and market openness continue to march ahead in Asia-Pacific," said Ajay Sharma, the regional head of global trade and receivables finance at banking and financial services provider HSBC.

EU accords with Singapore and with Vietnam were at the ratification stage, while deals with Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand were being negotiated, he added. 

A China-EU summit ended on Monday with a communique affirming the commitment of both sides to the multilateral trading system.

Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Japan and 10 other states on his first day in office in January 2017 and has pushed to renegotiate a free trade pact with Canada and Mexico.

Trump says he is taking a hard line on trade to protect US workers and US companies, but critics say his approach is upending the rules of multilateral global trade.

Japan and the EU account for about a third of global GDP and their trade relationship has room to grow, according to EU officials, who expect the deal to boost the EU economy by 0.8 per cent and Japan's by 0.3 per cent over the long term.

NICOSIA — More than 1.6 million tourists visited Cyprus in the six months to June, the largest number ever for the first half of the year, the island’s statistics office said on Tuesday.

Tourist arrivals in January-June rose 12.4 per cent to 1.64 million from 1.46 million in the same period last year, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

“This also outnumbers the total of arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the first six months of the year,” it said.

An influx of tourists from main market Britain and an upswing from Sweden helped Cyprus mark another record as arrivals in June broke the 500,000 barrier, Cystat said.

“June 2018 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month,” it said.

Arrivals reached 511,073 in June, an increase of 8.2 per cent from last year’s 472,450.

However, the statistical department noted a 5.1 per cent drop in the number of Russian tourists, as well as a 15.1 per cent decrease in arrivals from Israel and an 11.3 per cent decline from Germany.

Year-on-year tourist arrivals from number one market the United Kingdom rose by 9.9 per cent in June to 164,477, while there was a 20.2 per cent increase in tourists from Sweden.

Sweden has now become the island’s third largest tourist market, with Russia still holding second place.

Industry officials argue that arrivals from Russia are down due to fluctuations of the ruble and the renewed popularity of Turkey — a destination made more attractive by a weak Turkish lira.

The tourism boom has helped Cyprus return to growth following a 10-billion-euro bailout in March 2013 to rescue its crumbling economy and insolvent banks.

Income from tourism now accounts for about 15 per cent of the eastern Mediterranean island’s gross domestic product and is credited with underpinning a quick recovery.

A record 3.65 million tourists took holidays in Cyprus last year, spending an unprecedented 2.6 billion euros.

BEIJING — China could open its economy if it wished, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Monday, with the European Union calling on countries to avoid a trade war even as pressure mounts on Beijing over its industrial policies.

Playing host to Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed the need to uphold free trade and multilateralism, as the United States and China become increasingly mired in a trade dispute, with no sign of negotiations on the horizon. 

US President Donald Trump has warned he may ultimately impose tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of Chinese goods — nearly the total amount of US imports from China last year — to combat what the US says are Beijing’s trade abuses.

China has sworn to retaliate at each step.

Long accused of protectionist tactics that make it a difficult place for foreign firms, China is trying to reverse that narrative amid the escalating trade war by approving huge investments, such as a $10-billion petrochemicals project by Germany’s BASF. 

At a joint news briefing with Li and Tusk in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Juncker said that move showed “if China wishes to open up it can do so. It knows how to open up”.

Later, at a business forum, he said, “We need just and fair multilateral rules. The EU is open but it is not naive.”

At the business event, Li invited executives from European companies operating in China to share their problems.

Airbus complained about delays in government approvals that had “caused a great loss” for the company, and BMW sought its greater inclusion in the creation of industry standards.

“Let me say we will ensure the implementation of the signed contracts and we will cut the time for approval procedures,” Li told Airbus China president Eric Chen, a pool report said.

Li also asked companies to tell him of complaints they had about the “theft of intellectual property” so that he could take “great measures”. The pool report did not make clear if any companies came forward.

Tusk urged China, the United States and other countries to avoid trade wars and reform the World Trade Organisation (WTO), equipping it to combat forced technology transfers and government subsidies, complaints underpinning Trump’s tariffs.

“It is the common duty of Europe and China, but also America and Russia, not to destroy this order but to improve it, not to start trade wars, which turned into hot conflicts so often in our history, but to bravely and responsibly reform the rules based international order,” Tusk said at a meeting with Li. 

“There is still time to prevent conflict and chaos.”

Later, President Xi Jinping met the European leaders and said the two sides should “join hands to defend multilateralism and a rules-based free trade system”, Chinese state television said. 

Critics of Beijing’s policies say foreign firms compete with Chinese rivals backed by massive, market-distorting subsidies and government support, issues not sufficiently addressed under WTO rules. 

Both China and Europe have stressed the need for trade differences to be tackled through the WTO, but the United States has said China’s unfair policies are too urgent and too big for the trade body to handle. 

‘Best friends’

The China-EU meeting produced a communique affirming the commitment of both sides to the multilateral trading system. Leaders failed to find sufficient consensus for such a joint statement after meetings in 2016 and 2017.

The statement said Beijing and Brussels had submitted market access offers for the first time as part of investment treaty talks, adding that the exchange should open a “new phase” in the negotiations that both sides viewed as “a top priority”.

“The EU took note of China’s recent commitments to improving market access and the investment environment, strengthening intellectual property rights and expanding imports, and looks forward to their full implementation as well as further measures,” the statement said. 

The two sides also agreed to establish a working group on WTO reforms.

European envoys say they have sensed a greater urgency from China since last year to find like-minded countries willing to stand up against Trump’s “America First” policies. 

China’s ambassador to the EU on Sunday wrote in Chinese state media that the annual China-EU leaders’ meeting would focus on how the two sides could become a “standard of stability” amid the “din of unilateralism and protectionism”.

The EU, while sharing Trump’s concern over Chinese trade abuses if not his prescription of tariffs, has largely rebuffed efforts by China to pressure it into a strong stance against Trump.

There is deep scepticism in the EU about China’s commitment to opening its market further, besides concern that it seeks to divide the world’s largest trading bloc with its economic influence in Eastern Europe.

Nonetheless, European officials suggest that Trump, who has also targeted Europe with tariffs, has created a window of opportunity to show that EU-China relations can be a bulwark for global trade.

On the eve of his meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Trump on Sunday rattled allies once more by labelling the European Union a “foe” on trade. Tusk on Twitter called it “fake news”, saying America and the EU are “best friends”.

LONDON — Boeing Co. is concerned about the impact of possible trade tariffs on the cost of running its supply chain, but has not yet seen any impact from US-Chinese trade tensions on its business, Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said on Sunday.

“The discussion right now is proposed tariffs, ongoing discussions. So in terms of actual implementation and things that are impacting us, we haven’t seen a material impact yet,” Muilenburg told reporters.

“We are very much engaged in the discussion. We are concerned that it could affect supply chain costs. But note that supply chains are flowing in both directions between [these] countries as we both support existing fleets as well as build new airplanes.” 

Washington recently imposed 25-per cent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports, and Beijing responded with tariffs on the same amount of US exports to China.

The US administration then raised the stakes, threatening 10-per cent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting China to warn it would hit back.

“Rhetoric about potential penalty actions are a concern to us,” Muilenburg said.

Speaking ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, Muilenburg, who has struck up good relations with US President Donald Trump, said both the United States and China understood the importance of aerospace to their economies.

China needs planes to boost its transport capacity and the United States relies on the sector for thousands of valuable export jobs, he said.

“Aerospace thrives on global trade, free and open trade,” Muilenburg said, adding the sector drove economic benefit globally.

Besides industry concerns about trade tariffs, and in some cases disruption from Britain’s exit from the European Union, plane makers are also on the alert for any disruption stemming from tightness in global supply chains due to record output.

“It’s on all of our radars everyday,” Muilenburg said.

Mid-market jet 

On Boeing’s plans for a potential new passenger plane, Muilenburg said the US company would not take a decision on whether to launch the potential middle-of-the-market design until 2019.

He stressed it would not let the entry to service slip beyond a target of 2025, even though it is taking the time needed to hone the business case for the novel type of jet.

“We want a 2025 airplane,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Kevin McAllister said, adding it would be more economic to run than other aircraft in its category.

Boeing is looking at developing a plane to try to stimulate new routes in a gap between its benchmark 737 single-aisle model and the smallest version of its wide-body 787 jetliner.

Analysts say the deadline is crucial because it represents the sweet spot for replacements of elderly 757 and 767 fleets.

Any sign of delay would allow European rival Airbus to argue that airlines would do better to pick an improved version of its hot-selling A321neo plane, covering many of the same missions.

Boeing executives said the market would be better served by a tailor-made aircraft with superior economics. Airbus says its A321neo already accounts for a large slice of that sector.

Flanked by many of Boeing’s top executives as the company prepares to play up innovation at the July 16-22 air show, Muilenburg said he saw a future for supersonic and hypersonic technology but that it was too early to talk about the timing.

Boeing executives highlighted the value of its investments in Britain after a trade row between Boeing and Canada’s Bombardier threatened jobs in Northern Ireland, where Prime Minister Theresa May depends on support for her majority.

Britain is said to be nearing a decision to award a new contract for early-warning planes to Boeing, prompting a backlash from Airbus and others wanting a formal competition.

AMMAN — Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie (SGBJ) has recently signed an agreement with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to acquire its National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) Jordan business operations, according to an SGBJ statement. 

The deal has been approved by the Central Bank of Jordan, the statement said, adding that the deal covers the transfer of employees and relevant suppliers’ contracts. 

All NBAD Jordan clients, employees and branches will be transferred to SGBJ. The transaction will be completed over the coming months and until the sale is complete, NBAD Jordan will remain open for business as usual, according to the statement. 

Through the transaction, SGBJ said it seeks to accelerate its growth strategy by leveraging this business opportunity to enhance and consolidate its position in the Jordanian market, thus complementing previous growth achieved over the past five years.

SGBJ operates as a universal bank through a network of 17 branches located across different areas in Amman and other governorates. 

It offers a wide range of banking services, covering retail, corporate, SMEs, private banking, brokerage and leasing, said the statement.