Business

PARIS — Flights to Beirut by Air France and low-cost carrier Transavia France will remain suspended until at least Tuesday due to "security" concerns in the region, parent company Air France-KLM said.

The two French airlines first stopped servicing the route on Monday, a day after Israel vowed to retaliate following rocket fire from Lebanon that killed 12 people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

"Any resumption of operation will be subject to a renewed evaluation on the ground," a spokesman said Saturday, adding that passengers with reservations could rebook at no extra cost.

Flights to Tel Aviv will continue as normal, he added.

The rocket attack on the Golan Heights sparked fears that fighting between Hizbollah and Israel would escalate.

When those fears subsided somewhat the airlines announced on Tuesday that flights would resume on Wednesday.

But Israel then struck a Hizbollah stronghold in south Beirut on Tuesday evening, targeting a senior commander it blamed for the rocket strike on the Golan Heights.

This development sparked an extension of the flight suspension until Saturday, which has now been prolonged again.

Iran said on earlier Saturday it expects the Tehran-backed Hizbollah group to hit deeper inside Israel and no longer be confined to military targets.

Hizbollah has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israeli forces.

German carrier Lufthansa has suspended flights until August 5.

BAGHDAD — Iraq signed an agreement with British energy giant British Petroleum on Thursday to develop four oil and gas fields in the northern province of Kirkuk.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani and BP's CEO Murray Auchincloss, Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al Sudani's media office said.

"The memorandum includes the rehabilitation and development of the four oilfields under the North Oil Company in Kirkuk: the Kirkuk oilfield, Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz oilfields," the statement said.

"This initiative is part of the government's efforts to optimally invest in promising energy opportunities, aiming to increase and enhance oil production and gas and solar energy investments," it added.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.

According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves — among the largest in the world — amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate.

But Iraq aims to keep exploring to boost its crude reserves to more than 160 billion barrels, Abdel Ghani said in May.

Despite its vast oil reserves, Iraq hopes to increase natural gas production to help reduce dependence on imports from neighbouring Iran, a crucial supplier for Iraqi power generation.

Sudani has repeatedly stressed the need for Iraq to diversify energy sources to ease Iraq's chronic power outages, especially during summer.

To reduce its dependence on Iranian gas, Baghdad has started importing electricity from Jordan and Turkey, and it hopes to start connecting to the electricity grid of Gulf countries later this year.

SEOUL — Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it registered its fastest growth since 2010, with operating profits soaring for the second quarter, as chip prices bounce back and demand for generative AI continues to grow.

The world's largest memory chip maker posted an "operating profit of KRW 10.44 trillion [$7.5 billion] as favorable memory market conditions drove higher average sales price" for the April to June period, it said in a statement.

It added that "robust sales of OLED panels", used in creating digital displays, had also contributed.

The figure is a 1,462.29 per cent jump from 670 billion won for the same period a year earlier, exceeding market expectations.

Sales rose 23.4 per cent to 74 trillion won, Samsung said.

The firm is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Semiconductors are the lifeblood of the global economy, used in everything from kitchen appliances and mobile phones to cars and weapons.

And demand for the advanced chips that power AI systems has skyrocketed thanks to the success of ChatGPT and other generative AI products.

Samsung is one of only a handful of companies worldwide that manufacture premium high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips tailored for AI processors.

Kim Jae-jun, EVP of memory, told reporters that HBM sales were up 50 per cent in the second quarter compared with the three months prior — and the company was increasing production capacity.

"We have secured nearly four times the volume of customer requests compared to the previous year," he said.

Samsung said in a statement that they would "actively respond to the demand for high-value-added products for AI and will expand capacity to increase the portion of HBM3E sales".

Earlier this month, the company showcased the deployment of AI across a range of its consumer electronic products — including high-end health wearables — as it seeks to extend its leadership in global smartphone sales.

"Samsung Electronics' high credit quality is supported by its robust earnings this year that are driven by an upswing in the memory chip cycle," said Gloria Tsuen, VP senior credit officer at Moody's Ratings

"The company's AI chip development and strengthening foundry business will be key to its technological leadership and earnings over the next 12-18 months," she added.

Semiconductors, strikes 

Semiconductors are South Korea's leading export and $13.4 billion worth were shipped in June, their highest level yet, accounting for a fifth of the country's total exports, according to figures released by the customs service.

In April, the United States announced grants of up to $6.4 billion to Samsung to produce cutting-edge chips in Texas.

That same month, industry tracker International Data Corporation said Samsung regained its position as the top smart phone seller, wresting back the lead from Apple.

Samsung's solid earnings come even as a union representing tens of thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics is staging a so-called "indefinite" strike in a bid to force management to negotiate on wages and benefits.

Thousands of workers joined the strike at the outset, although it is unclear how many people continue to abstain from working.

Samsung said Wednesday that they were "communicating and discussing to ensure that this laboUr union strike ends early", adding that there was "no problem with responding to our customer volume".

But the union claims the work stoppage has had a negative impact.

"We're getting reports from our members that it is affecting production," Lee Hyun-kuk, vice president of the National Samsung Electronics Union, told AFP.

"The reason we are striking is clear, and we just want the company to bring suggestions that respect workers," he added.

Samsung shares were up 1.2 per cent in morning trade in Seoul.

MADRID — Spain's competition watchdog said on Tuesday it had slapped online travel agency Booking.com with a record 413-million-euro fine for "abusing its dominant position" during the past five years.

"These practices have affected hotels located in Spain and other online travel agencies that compete with the platform. Its terms and conditions create an inequitable imbalance in the commercial relationship with hotels located in Spain," the CNMC said in a statement.

"By better positioning hotels with more bookings on Booking.com, other online agencies have been prevented from entering the market or expanding," it added.

This is the largest fine ever imposed by the CNMC, a spokeswoman for the authority told AFP.

The CNMC said Booking.com's market share in Spain, the world's second most visited country after France, during the period under investigation was between 70 per cent and 90 per cent.

Booking.com, whose parent company Booking Holdings is headquartered in the United States, is a dominant player with a market share in Europe of more than 60 per cent.

In May, the European Union added the travel agency to its list of digital companies big enough to fall under tougher competition rules, giving the firm six months to prepare for compliance with the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The rules aim to level the playing field in the digital market, ensuring EU users have more options when choosing products.

Brussels said that tougher regulation of Booking.com would mean that holidaymakers would "start benefiting from more choice" and hotels would "have more business opportunities".

Hungary's competition watchdog earlier this month slapped Booking.com with a second fine for failing to cease its "unfair" business practices, including putting psychological pressure on customers.

In 2020, the firm was fined 2.5 billion forint ($7 million) by the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) for aggressive sales tactics.

And on July 15 the authority hit Booking.com with an additional penalty of 382.5 million forint after a follow-up investigation showed the company had continued its unfair practices.

AMMAN — The Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) achieved total pre-tax profits exceeding JD264 million and net post-tax profits of around JD202 million during the first half of 2024, according to a disclosure on the Amman Stock Exchange website.

Company's data showed that net sales during the first half of 2024 amounted to JD552 million, achieving substantial returns on capital; the share's profit for the first half of this year amounted to 81 per cent of its nominal value, despite the noticeable increase in the cost of sales ratio due to the significant decrease in global prices of its products and the rise in shipping and marine insurance costs during the first half of 2024.

The company's results showed positive indicators in production, marketing, and financial data for the first half of this year, confirming the feasibility and executability of the company's plans.

The company increased its production of raw phosphate at the end of the first half of this year to 5.549 million tonnes, an increase of 38,000 tonnes from the same period last year, which was 5.511 million tonnes, surpassing the 2024 production plan by 3.8 per cent.

According to its results, the company also recorded an increase in the quantities of exported raw phosphate in the first half of this year, reaching 3.405 million tonnes, an increase of 32,000 tonnes compared to the same period last year, which was 3.373 million tonnes.

The company's marketing plan achievement rate reached 108 per cent, as shown by the results, due to its policy of opening new markets and improving and diversifying production processes to enhance the competitiveness of phosphate sales in global markets.

many — German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz last week reported a sharp drop in second-quarter net profit on weaker sales of electric vehicles and cooling demand in key market China. 

Net profit fell by 15.9 per cent compared to the same period last year, to just over 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion), the Stuttgart-based group said. 

Group revenues were down nearly four per cent to 36.7 billion euros. 

Mercedes said the auto sector continued to face "a degree of uncertainty" in terms of the global economic outlook, geopolitical events and trade policy. 

The group now expects an adjusted return on sales — a key measure of profitability — in the range of 10-11 per cent in 2024, compared with 10-12 per cent previously. 

Sales of Mercedes cars fell by 3.7 per cent to 496,712 units between April and June, which the group said was partly due to "model changeovers" as customers waited for new models to arrive before buying. 

It also blamed a "subdued market environment" in Asia, with sales in China down six per cent as European car makers grapple with fierce competition from local brands particularly in the electric segment. 

The group's sales of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) plummeted by 25 per cent in the second quarter, hammered by the growing Chinese competition and softer demand in Europe as governments pare back incentives. 

The "market dynamics" for BEVs in 2024 were weaker than "what most in the industry or industry observers had expected" a few years ago, CEO Ola Kallenius told reporters in a call. 

But "in the face of this uncertainty", Mercedes was nevertheless "in a good position, because we are flexible", he added. 

Mercedes was eyeing a pick-up in overall sales in the second half of the year, Kallenius said, helped by "launches of new models particularly in the top-end segment". 

The group confirmed that it expected full-year revenues to come in at the same level as a year earlier. 

AMMAN – Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (HBTF) Group has announced its financial results for the first six months of 2024, reporting net profits of       JD80.1 million, an increase of 4.4% compared to the same period last year.

Commenting on these results, H.E. Abdul Elah Al-Khatib, Chairman of the Board of Directors, expressed his satisfaction with the positive financial results achieved, emphasizing that the Group’s positive financial outcomesreflect the success of its policies and strategy, characterized by flexibility and modernity, which are based on maintaining the Group’s five-decade legacy of success and achievements.

Al-Khatib added that the Group’s ability to achieve net profits exceeding JD80 million during the first half of theyear confirms the Bank’s success and ability to deal with exceptional circumstances, geopolitical developments, and their repercussions on the economic and service sectors.

From his side, Ammar Al-Safadi, Chief Executive Officer of HBTF Group, uncovered the Group’s key financial indicators for the first half of 2024, which illustrate theGroup’s strong financial position, as well as effective and flexible resource management across various operational sectors, further highlighting its continued achievement of targeted growth in its various operational activities.

Al-Safadi expressed his pride in the Bank’s outstanding performance for the first half of the current year and its ability to record sustainable growth derived from its main operational sectors, which continued to record positive upward performance across its various financial indicators.

Additionally, Al-Safadi noted that the return on equity toshareholders increased to 12.3%, while the return on average assets increased to 1.81% during the first half of the current year. This outstanding performance reflects the Bank’s operational efficiency and successful asset and liability management to deliver the greatest return to theshareholders.

Furthermore, Al-Safadi emphasized that the Group has maintained its prudent risk management approach and precautionary measures to hedge against any potential economic challenges, allocating increased provisions for expected credit losses during the first half of the year.

The recent upgrade of the Bank’s credit rating by international agencies, elaborated Al-Safadi, is an extension of the Bank’s strong financial position and its distinguished performance. It is a testament to its firm commitment to providing the best innovative banking solutions and distinguished services in a flexible and evolvingoperational environment. Al-Safadi explained that raising the Bank’s credit rating is a culmination of its efforts to maintain the rising profitability, supported by a strong capital base and high liquidity ratios, in addition to maintaining high percentages of stable customer deposits. It also reflects the conservative approach adopted by the Bank, which balances additional reserves with assetquality, demonstrating the Bank’s ability to manageeconomic challenges with great flexibility.

During the first half of 2024, the Group’s net credit facilities increased by 5.3% to reach JD4.7 billion as at the end of June 2024. This growth positively impacted the total income, operating profit, and market share of the Bank.

Moreover, the Group continued to strengthen its sources of funds, as customer deposits increased by 3.6% to reachJD5.9 billion by the end of the first half of 2024. The total equity amounted to JD1.3 billion, while the capital adequacy ratio reached 18.6%, which is higher than the minimum regulatory requirements of the Central Bank of Jordan and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Looking ahead, Al-Safadi assured that the HBTF Groupwill continue to advance its strategy by adopting the latest electronic and digital applications in line with the best banking practices globally, to provide the top banking services to customers and uphold their satisfaction. He reaffirmed the Group’s commitment to staying at the forefront of new developments in the banking industry and what modern technology provides in this field, including what befits the Housing Bank’s position in the Jordanian banking market.