Business

GENEVA — The aviation industry provides better connectivity at affordable prices nowadays. However, several forces are putting pressure on the industry, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Alexandre de Juniac said on Wednesday.

Opening the IATA Global Media Days in Geneva, he said these forces include trade wars and the rise of nationalism.

Noting that flying is a freedom that grows prosperity and improves people’s lives, he said, “IATA has and will continue to take a strong stance that we are better off with borders that are open to people and trade”. 

“While respecting the right of countries to protect their borders, we believe that greater connectivity makes our world a better place. It is part of the DNA of our industry with a mission to bring people closer as a global community.”

On IATA’s global presence, the CEO said that the association’s 290 members represent 82 per cent of the total air traffic. “Together, they are vital to the important work of linking people and economies.”

He said that over four-and-a-half billion passengers and 61 million tonnes of freight will travel across a network of more than 22,000 unique city pairs connected by air in 2019.

“That’s more than double the number of routes that were available in 1998”, he noted.

“Flying is becoming more affordable, de Juniac said, explaining that the average return fare in 2019 before surcharges and tax is forecast to stand at 62 per cent lower than in 1998 after adjusting for inflation.”

Comparing how the condition of flying was 75 years ago when the Chicago Convention was signed with nowadays, the CEO said, “In 1945, some nine million people travelled by air. Today we transport that same number, on average, every 18 hours.”

Environment 

The CEO explained that aviation made “serious” climate action commitments in 2008 towards cutting carbon — “long before the word ‘Flyskam’ entered our vocabulary”.

He added that the aviation sector has been  committed to improve fuel efficiency by an average of 1.5 per cent annually.

With aviation held responsible for 2 per cent of global man made carbon emissions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the CEO said, “We are committed to cut our emissions to half 2005 levels by 2050 which aligns aviation with the Paris agreement.”

However, the CEO urged governments to focus on driving the technology and policy solutions in a manner that can make flying sustainable. 

“In the immediate term, that means focusing on sustainable aviation fuels which have the potential to cut our carbon footprint by up to 80 per cent.”

“Carbon is the enemy, not flying. Our goal is to keep the world flying sustainably and with pride.”

AMMAN — The International Air Transport Association (IATA), in partnership with the Global Shippers Forum, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations and the International Air Cargo Association, are exerting more efforts to ensure the safe air transport of lithium batteries, according to an IATA statement. 

The organisations are also renewing calls for governments to crack down on manufacturers of counterfeit batteries and of mis-labelled and non-compliant shipments introduced into the supply chain, by issuing and enforcing criminal sanctions on those responsible.

Consumer demand for lithium batteries is growing by 17 per cent, annually. Subsquently, the number of incidents involving mis-declared or undeclared lithium batteries has also risen. 

“Dangerous goods, including lithium batteries, are safe to transport if managed according to international regulations and standards. But we are seeing an increase in the number of incidents in which rogue shippers are not complying. The industry is uniting to raise awareness of the need to comply. This includes the launching of an incident reporting tool so that information on rogue shippers is shared. And we are asking governments to get much tougher with fines and penalties,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president, airport, passenger, cargo and security.

The campaign includes three specific initiatives.

They are an incident reporting and alert system for airlines, an industry awareness campaign on the dangers of shipping undeclared and misdeclared lithium batteries, and the facilitation of a joined-up industry approach.

The alert system is an industry information sharing platform has been launched to target mis-declared consignments of lithium batteries. The reporting system will allow real-time information about dangerous goods incidents to be reported in order to identify and eradicate acts of deliberate or intentional concealment and misdeclaration.

As for the campaign, a series of dangerous goods awareness seminars are being held across the world targeting countries and regions where compliance has been challenging. 

In addition, an education and awareness programme for customs authorities has been developed in collaboration with the World Customs Organisation.

 Regarding the joined-up approach, the industry has pledged support for an initiative presented by the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and The Netherlands at the recent Assembly of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation which calls for the adoption of a cross-domain approach to include aviation security, manufacturing standards, customs and consumer protection agencies. 

Currently air cargo is scanned for items that pose a risk to security such as explosives, but not safety such as lithium batteries. 

Governments must play their role with much stricter enforcement of international regulations to ensure the safe transport of these vital shipments, said the statement. The four trade associations urge regulators to follow through with significant fines and penalties for those who circumvent regulations for the transport of lithium batteries.

AMMAN — The value of the country’s industrial exports during the first 10 months of 2019 posted an 8.7 per cent increase as it reached JD4.933 billion, compared to the figure recorded at the end of the same period last year, according to a report by the Jordan Chamber of Industry, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, said. Leather and textiles exports were exported at around JD1.309 billion up from JD1.112 billion, recording a 17.7 per cent increase.

Exports of the chemical and cosmetics sector grew by 18.4 per cent to JD815 million from JD689 million, the news agency added. Mining sector exports totalled JD906 million compared to JD893 million, up by 1.5 per cent. Among the sectors that saw a decline in their exports were engineering and ICT industries, packaging industries, and wood and furniture industries. 

AMMAN — The Energy and Mineral Recourses Parliamentary Committee on Tuesday endorsed a bill that nullifies a law pertaining to the ratification of an oil exploration, production, sharing and evaluation agreement that had been reached between the Natural Resources Authority and Ammonite Energy Ltd. in Al Jafr and central Jordan.

Hussein Qaisi, who heads the Parliamentary Committee, said that the government from the very beginning should decide whether companies expressing interest in oil exploration are serious about the job or not, through examining their background.

The reason for the committee’s decision is failure by Ammonite Energy Ltd. to implement its commitments, under the contract on oil exploration in Jafr and central Jordan, he said. The committee’s meeting was attended by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati and other energy sector officials.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN — The European Central Bank's (ECB) new President Christine Lagarde has announced that the Frankfurt-based institute will soon undertake a strategic review, its first since 2003.

Here is how the ECB's strategy has developed over the years and what has prompted the decision to reassess it.

What is the ECB strategy now?  

The ECB's overriding mandate is to ensure price stability.

In 2003, its main decision-making body, the governing council, defined that goal as an inflation rate of "just below, but close to" 2 per cent, a level that would encourage investment and employment, while warding off deflation.

Nevertheless, inflation has remained stubbornly low at around 1 per cent, a phenomenon that has left many economists around the world scratching their heads.

Different theories have been put forward as to a possible explanation, from the rise of the casual "gig" economy or the suppression of workers' earnings through globalisation, to political shocks, such as trade tensions and Brexit.

There have been increasing calls for the central bank to rethink the inflation target and the issue is certain to feature highly on the ECB's review, which is expected to take many months.

At the same time, the ECB is under pressure to do more to tackle climate change and wealthier countries like Germany see the review as a chance to call into question the ECB's ultra-expansive policy.

They have long argued that the bank's record-low — and even negative — interest rates, as well as its massive "quantitative easing" bond-buying programme, are detrimental to savers and help accentuate asset price bubbles.

The review will be "an ideal opportunity for Christine Lagarde to reflect on the unconventional crisis measures adopted over the past decade", Pictet Wealth Management strategist Frederik Ducrozet said.

The aim should be "not to 'reset' monetary policy, but give it a new launching point for the coming eight years" of her mandate, he said.

A change in the definition of the inflation target to "around" 2 per cent, instead of "just below", would be "desirable and plausible, if only to make forecasts simpler and more credible", Ducrozet said.

Meanwhile, environmentalists are lobbying the ECB intensively to green both its own operations and its investments in the wider economy through its bond-buying scheme.

Lagarde acknowledged last week that "the ECB's mandate is not climate change", but said climate risks could be built into its economic forecasting and other aspects of its work, such as banking supervision, without compromising the price stability target.

Clearer communication 

Until now, ECB meetings have been shrouded in more secrecy than those of other central banks, with an "account" published only weeks later that neither names participants, nor reveals the voting record of individual governing council members. 

"We think the bank may move to a more transparent and systematic process of voting on major policy decisions," said Capital Economics analyst Andrew Kenningham.

The debate has been given fresh urgency following the decision by the ECB's governing council in September to restart a bond-buying scheme, which led to a rare public row where dissenters aired their grievances in the media. 

Lagarde has also vowed to bring the ECB closer to the public by ditching some of the bank's seemingly impenetrable jargon, where a single word can move markets, but remain incomprehensible to outsiders.

Lagarde has said she wants to "dust off" the bank's language to help citizens understand "what the ECB is for".

PARIS — Public transport in France was crippled for a fourth day on Sunday as the government prepared to respond to anger over pension reforms that brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets as workers embarked on open-ended protest.

President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and senior Cabinet ministers were scheduled to hold a "working meeting" late Sunday to discuss a government project which the country's powerful labour unions claim will force many to work longer for a smaller retirement payout.

The strikes, which began on Thursday over plans for a single, points-based pension scheme, recalled the winter of 1995, when three weeks of stoppages forced a social policy U-turn by the then-government.

Macron's move to modernise France's retirement system is part of an election pledge to put the country on a solid financial footing — a mission that calls for painful changes in a country where many people have seen their spending power decline.

The biggest labour unrest in years comes as France's economy is already dented by more than a year of weekly anti-government protests by "yellow vest" activists, and with Macron's popularity falling.

The mass strike closed schools on Thursday, and hobbled commuters in Paris and its suburbs as well as other major cities through the weekend.

Many opted to take days off or to work from home, but thousands had no choice but to squeeze into perilously overfull suburban trains and metros whose numbers were slashed to a minimum.

Shows cancelled 

Regional and international trains, including the Thalys and Eurostar, were also badly affected and many flights were cancelled on the first days of the strike.

Many tourists were left disappointed too, with the world-famous Louvre closing some rooms, and the Paris Opera and other theatres in the capital cancelling performances.

The chaos was set to continue on Monday, with the three main rail unions calling for the action to be stepped up ahead of another general strike and mass protests called for Tuesday.

"In the coming days, we recommend avoiding public transport," said the website of the RATP public train, tram, bus and metro company on which some 10 million passengers in the larger Paris area rely daily to get to work.

Ten out of the RATP's 16 metro lines will be offline, four will offer limited service, and the only two driverless metros will run as usual but with a "risk of congestion" during peak hours.

Inter-city rail operator SNCF cautioned of potentially "dangerous" overcrowding.

Philippe vowed to the Sunday newspaper Journal du Dimanche he was "determined" to pursue the reform — which will see 42 pension plans merged into one.

"If we do not make a far-reaching, serious and progressive reform today, someone else will do a really brutal one tomorrow," said the head of government.

But the leader of the hardline CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told the paper: "We will keep up until the withdrawal" of the reform plan, which he said contained "nothing good".

'Positive outcomes' 

Under pressure, the government held talks with union representatives over the weekend, ahead of Sunday evening's emergency meeting.

Jean-Paul Delevoye, who Macron appointed to lead the pension reform project, is set to unveil the outcome of his months-long consultations on Monday, followed by Philippe announcing the final details of the proposed reform plan on Wednesday.

Delevoye has already angered unions by suggesting cancelling the more advantageous pensions enjoyed by some professions including public transport and utilities workers, sailors, notaries and even Paris Opera workers.

The proposals have brought thousands out on the streets in recent months, including train drivers, pilots, lawyers, doctors and police.

At least 800,000 took part in countrywide rallies on Thursday, one of the biggest demonstrations of union strength in nearly a decade.

On Saturday, some 23,500 people including "yellow vest" protesters marched against unemployment and waning spending power.

Philippe insisted the reform will "provide extremely positive outcomes for many people who are suffering injustices in the current system", including women and farmers.

Businesses, however, feared for their bottom line with empty beds in many hotels and shopping hit by the transport stoppage on a key weekend in the run-up to Christmas.

PARIS — A US proposal for international digital taxes to be made “optional” is “not acceptable”, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday.

Le Maire urged the United States to negotiate “in good faith” with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members to reach an agreement on taxing global computing giants rather than resorting to “regrettable” trade measures that target symbolic products.

France has been at the forefront of efforts to tighten taxation of digital giants and parliament infuriated the administration of President Donald Trump in July by adopting a law taxing digital firms like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon for revenues earned inside the country.

In a letter addressed on Thursday to the OECD, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reiterated support for ongoing talks on a deal that is to be finalised by June, but also made new propositions that unsettled trade partners.

The notion of a “safe harbour regime” that Mnuchin presents as a solution to US concerns includes the principle of “optionality” which Le Maire, however, said would not work.

“Frankly, I do not believe in the US proposal for an optional solution, where companies choose freely to be taxed or not,” Le Maire told an audience in Paris.

“An optional solution would clearly not be acceptable to France or its OECD partners,” the minister said.

“I have not seen many companies that accept to be taxed of their own free will. While you can always count on individual philanthropy, I am not sure that when it comes to public finances that goes very far,” Le Maire said.

The French finance minister argued for a binding text being mulled by 135 countries under OECD auspices that would replace France’s own 3-per cent tax on sales by digital giants within France.

‘In good faith’ 

Le Maire urged Washington to “return to the path of negotiations... in good faith, not on an optional basis but on a binding basis for all states that sign up to the agreement”.

France and other countries argue that multinational digital giants must pay taxes on revenues accrued in a country even if their corporate or tax headquarters are elsewhere, such as Ireland or Luxembourg where company profits are taxed at comparatively low levels.

In response to the French digital tax plan, the US has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on $2.4 billion in French goods including champagne, cosmetics, yoghurt and Roquefort cheese. 

In his letter, Mnuchin underscored the importance of the OECD talks “to prevent the proliferation of unilateral measures, like digital services taxes” that he urged member countries to suspend.

The row now threatens to block the OECD negotiations.

“It is regrettable that these trade wars lead our US allies and friends... to directly attack products that symbolise the French culture,” Le Maire said.

He said the French tax did not single out US companies, and that European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan had expressed his “full support” for an EU-wide plan that would reply to the US threat in kind should it take effect.

Meanwhile, Hogan said he was planning to sit down with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer next month to discuss the American threat against French exports.

“We are looking at all possibilities, but we prefer to have a negotiated settlement,” Hogan told Bloomberg News.

VIENNA — Major oil exporting countries started meeting in Vienna on Thursday amid speculation they are seeking to deepen output cuts as slowing global economic growth and abundant reserves put pressure on oil prices. 

The cuts of 1.2 million barrels per day from October 2018 levels were originally fixed in December last year and were already extended at the last meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum exporting Countries (OPEC) in July.

But Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer Ghadban on his arrival on Tuesday in Vienna suggested some members would push for output to be slashed by an additional 400,000 barrels per day.

Some observers say fresh production cuts and a boost to prices would suit Saudi Arabia as it tries to support the initial public offering (IPO) of its national oil company Aramco.

"I'm expecting a successful meeting," Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman told reporters as he arrived for his first OPEC gathering as Saudi oil minister. 

Other oil ministers were unusually tight-lipped as they arrived for the two-day meeting.

Earlier on Thursday, the Saudi prince — half-brother of the kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman — met Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, according to a statement by Russia's energy ministry.

Novak praised the two countries' "important existing dialogue" as the two men discussed their cooperation to control world oil prices with other OPEC countries and economic relations.

The big unknown in the run-up to the meetings has been the position of Russia.

The world's second-biggest producer, which since late 2016 has been part of the so-called OPEC+ grouping, admitted on Tuesday that it had missed its monthly target for cuts in November for the eighth time this year.

Iraq and Nigeria — Africa's biggest producer — have also regularly been exceeding their quotas.

'No climate 

change deniers' 

Ahead of Thursday's meeting, dozens of climate change activists gathered outside the OPEC headquarters in a silent protest, holding banners that read: "Burn injustice not oil" and "Fossil fuels have got to go".

OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo — who called climate change activists the "greatest threat" to the oil industry during the organisation's last meeting in July — received several of them, assuring that "there are no climate change deniers in OPEC".

"I'm happy that you are here and we will continue with our dialogue," he said. 

OPEC members may well be tempted to follow a cautious course by a forbidding global economic context.

The trade war with the US is acting as a drag on growth in China, normally an avid consumer of oil, while the European economy is also stagnating.

Moreover, the output of oil producers outside OPEC is breaking records: the US has been the world's biggest producer since 2018, Brazil and Canada have also increased output and others such as Norway are planning to do so.

According to the latest US estimates, the country's total domestic stocks now stand at an enormous 452 million barrels.

Analysts say that, taken together, these factors will leave OPEC little room for manoeuvre if it wants to fulfil its stated aim of securing "fair and stable prices for petroleum producers".

Prices have held relatively steady since the last OPEC meeting, with a barrel of Brent crude hovering around the $60 mark, apart from a spike in September sparked by attacks on Saudi oil installations.

While this is a comfortable price for the likes of Russia, whose 2019 budget is predicated on a price of around $42 a barrel, it is too low for countries such as Saudi Arabia.

On the eve of the summit, oil prices finished the day's trading on a high, with the European benchmark of Brent up by 3.6 per cent and its American equivalent WTI 4.2 per cent higher.

 Further cuts? 

Saudi Arabia has stayed within the quota it had been assigned under the current deal and in September urged its partners to do the same.

Meanwhile, the Aramco IPO has been delayed several times with the bidding period closing on Wednesday.

While investors have baulked at Aramco's valuation of around $1.7 trillion, this is still less than Saudi authorities were hoping for.

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco said on Friday that applications from private investors for its planned stock market offering had been oversubscribed.

The much-delayed initial public offering (IPO), first announced in 2016, is a cornerstone of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's ambitious plan to diversify the Gulf state's oil-reliant economy.

The IPO could exceed the world's biggest to date — the $25 billion float of Chinese retail giant Alibaba in 2014.

On November 17, Saudi Aramco said it would sell 1.5 per cent of the company in an initial public offering worth $24-25.6 billion.

"Retail subscriptions, which concluded last night, reached 47,411,624,960 Saudi riyals" ($12.6 billion, 11.5 billion euros), with almost five million subscribers for nearly 1.5 billion shares, Friday's statement said.

Aramco had said it would reserve a portion of the IPO's shares for institutional investors, including foreign companies, and individual investors, Saudi citizens and Gulf states.

A maximum of 0.5 per cent of the 200 billion shares will go to individual investors, the statement said.

It said subscriptions and bids during the first 12 days of the offer period totalled more than 166 billion riyals ($44.3 billion, 40.2 billion euros).

The statement quoted Rania Nashar, deputy chairman of Samba Capital, as saying the high turnout and subscription rates was "a source of pride, an indication of success and a signal of confidence".

Institutional bids received during the first 12 days of the book-building period, which continues until December 4, now stand at more than 118 billion riyals ($31.5 billion, 28.6 billion euros), Aramco said.

Saudi Arabia is pulling out all the stops to ensure the success of the IPO, a crucial part of Prince Mohammed's plan to wean the economy away from oil by pumping funds into megaprojects and non-energy industries.

The economic jewel of Saudi Arabia produces about 10 per cent of the world's oil and is considered the pillar of the kingdom's economic and social stability.