ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29-30, 2021 3

Fajr ........ 04:38Sunrise .. 05:58Zohr ....... 11:32

Asr .......... 14:42Maghrib .. 17:06Isha ........ 18:23

Prayer TimingsExpected weather for the next 24 hours:

By Day: Rather hot and partly cloudy with light to moderate freshening at times south easterly wind with speeds of 15-55 km/h with a chance for scattered rain with a chance for rising dust.

By Night: Fair and partly cloudy with moderate to fresh south east-erly wind with speeds of 20-60 km/h with a chance for rising dust.Station Max Exp Min RecKuwait City 32 25Kuwait Airport 35 23Abdaly 35 18

Jahra 35 24Salmiyah 30 26Ahmadi 30 27Wafra 35 22Salmya 36 22Jal Aliyah 35 21Managish - -

Weather

VACCINE REGISTRATION WEBSITE: https://cov19vaccine.moh.gov.kw/SPCMS/CVD_19_Vaccine_Registration.aspx

National Bank of Kuwait rallies 25 fi ls, KIPCO slips

Kuwait stock market wraps up week with robust gainBy John MathewsArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 28: Kuwait stocks revved up on Thursday to close the week on a cheery note. The All Shares Index rallied 65.05 points in a broad advance to 7,100.13 points paced by blue chips. The day’s advance was the highest single day gain in 8-weeks.t

The Premier Market soared 80.11 points to 7,678.21 pts taking the month’s gains to 182 points while Main Market scaled 32.20 pts. The BK Main 50 sprinted 36.85 points to 6,169.54 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile a mod-est rebound following Wednesday’s pullback. Over 680 million shares changed hands – a 9 pct rise from the day before.

All sectors, barring one, closed in green. Technology outshone the rest with 4.72 pct gain whereas Utilities, the only loser, shed 0.42 per-cent. Volume wise, Financial Services topped with 288 million shares while Banking sector was ahead in value with KD 35.8 million.

Among the standout performers, sector bell-wether National Bank of Kuwait rallied 25 fi ls to 990 fi ls on back of 12 million shares while Kuwait Finance House climbed 7 fi ls to 832 fi ls and the counter saw 11.8 million shares change

hands. Boubyan Bank paced 5 fi ls and National Investment Co sprinted 12 fi ls to 220 fi ls. Kuwait National Cinema Co jumped 40 fi ls to 890 fi ls.

Zain inched 1 fi l higher to 596 fi ls on back of 2.9 million shares while Ooredoo gave up 4 fi ls. stc stood pat at 865 fi ls whereas logis-tics major Agility paced 5 fi ls after pushing 5.8 million shares. Boursa Kuwait Securities slipped 10 fi ls to KD 2.010 and Humansoft Holding tripped 2 fi ls.

Loss KIPCO fell 3 fi ls to 147 fi ls taking the

month’s loss to 11 fi ls and Mabanee Co took in 1 fi l. Tamdeen Investment slipped 4 fi ls to 378 fi ls and Unicap Investment scaled 11 fi ls. Kuwait Financial Centre and Gulf Investment gained 4 fi ls each whereas Alargan Interna-tional shed 11 fi ls.

National Industries Group rallied 13 fi ls to 274 fi ls on back of 11 million shares and Gulf Cable scaled 14 fi ls before ending at 897 fi ls. Boubyan Petrochemical Co and Al Qurain Petrochemical were unchanged at 920 fi ls and 379 fi ls respectively whereas Mezzan Holding dialed up 1 fi l. Jazeera Airways saw a 20 fi ls ascent to KD 1.050 with a volume of 1.4 mil-lion while ALAFCO added 3 fi ls.

The market opened fi rm and edged higher in early trade. The main index saw a brief spike almost an hour into the session and pulled back before moving sideways well past the mid-session. It revved up in the fi nal hour to peak at 7103 points and retreated slightly before clos-ing with strong gains.

Top gainer of the day, Unicap soared 15 pct to 85 fi ls and PAPCO sprinted 9.3 percent to stand next. Argan skidded 9.24 fi ls, the steepest declin-er of the day while Gulf Finance House topped the volume with 103.5 million shares.

Refl ecting the day’s gains, the market spread was heavily skewed towards the winners. 88 stocks advanced whereas 38 closed lower. Of the 148 counters active on Thursday, 22 closed fl at. 20,884 deals worth KD 103.84 million were transacted during the session.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank took in 1 fi l on back of 24.9 million shares and Burgan Bank followed suit to close at 238 fi ls. Kuwait International Bank and Warba Bank too added 1 fi l each while Ahli United Bank BSC dialed up 2 fi ls. Commercial Bank gave up 4 fi ls where as Al Ahli Bank and Ahli United Bank Kuwait both took in 1 fi ls each.

Kuwait Cement Co rose 4 fi ls to 256 fi ls and Kuwait Portland Cement closed 3 fi ls in

green. HEISC paced 4 fi ls whereas Metal and Recycling Co and ACICO Industries dialed up 1 fi ls each. Kuwait Foundry Co and Shuaiba Industrial Co held ground at 375 fi ls and 217 fi ls respectively while Hilal Cement inched 1 fi ls into green. Equipment Holding Co eased 2.5 fi ls to 59.5 fi ls.

Climbed NICBM was up 3 fi ls at 211 fi ls and 805 fi ls

Warba Capital Holding tripped 1 fi ls. Educa-tional Holding climbed 6 fi ls to 805 fi ls whereas Independent Petroleum Group gave up 4 fi ls. Sul-tan Centre extended last session’s gain with 7 fi ls rise to 226 fi ls while Arabi Group Holding rallied 13 fi ls on back of 3.7 million shares. Inovest BSC rose 5 fi ls to 118 fi ls.

NAPESCO slipped 6 fi ls to 836 fi ls and Auto-mated Systems Co closed 5 fi ls in green. KCPC dialed down 2 fi ls and Jassim Transport Co dipped 11 fi ls to 401 fi ls and Land United Real Estate shed 10 fi ls. Kuwait and Gulf Links Trans-port Co edged 0.5 fi ls higher while Soor Fuel Marketing added 3 fi ls. The market was upbeat during the week. The main index closed higher in four of the fi ve sessions, 124 points week-on-week. It has gained 236 points from start of the month and is up 1554 points year-to-date.

Euro/KD 0.3524

Yen/KD 0.0026

British £/KD 0.4164

Indian Rs/KD 0.0040

Philippines Peso/KD 0.0059

FTSE -3.80 pts at 18:50 Oct 28

Nikkei -278.15 pts at closing Oct 28

Gold $1,798.20 per oz (London)

US$/KDUS$/KD 0.30160/70 0.30160/70

NYMEX crude $82.07 per barrel

Brent crude $83.08 per barrel

LIBOR rate 0.12863%

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KUNA photoDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah (center) with the Kuwait Army Chief Lt Gen Khaled Saleh

Al-Sabah (left) pose for a picture at the ceremony.

New devices to endbiometrics fi ddling

Check on work cheats

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 28: The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) recently im-plemented an ambitious plan to change the fi ngerprint at-tendance system by uploading the fi ngerprints of employees to modern devices in a bid to prevent tampering with the system, as the ministry has had several fraud cases over the years with many employ-ees using silicon fi ngerprints to register their attendance even if they are not physically pre-sent in their respective work-places, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources.

Sources confi rmed the fi ngerprint at-tendance team has so far completed up-loading the fi ngerprints of 3,000 out of 21,000 employees in the ministry.

Sources said all the extensions and connections needed for the installation of 500 devices at the head offi ce along with 170 affi liated external sites have been completed, indicating the total cost of the new devices reached KD 340,000.

Sources added the team has specifi ed the place for employees to register their fi ngerprints during offi cial working hours as it takes only one minute to take the fi ngerprints of one employee while ensuring the implementation of health regulations.

Sources reiterated the new devices have been installed and started operat-ing on Oct 9, disclosing the uploading of fi ngerprints of all employees will be completed within a few months.

Sources also unveiled the ministry’s plan to adopt the smart fi ngerprint at-tendance system through which the employees can register their attendance through their smart phones. Sources said the ministry intends to take this step in order to keep pace with the latest global development in this fi eld.

Sources explained this will be done through an electronic program down-loaded in the employees’ smart phones, such that it only works within the speci-fi ed work site through the ministry’s network to confi rm the fi ngerprints. Sources said it is diffi cult to manipu-late the system, as exiting the program comes with the need to download it again and this means an attempt to ma-nipulate the system.

‘Nature of work considered’

CSC waters down benefi ts claimsKUWAIT CITY, Oct 28: Regarding the recent increase in the demands of some employees for some allowances and fi nancial benefi ts, informed sources in the Civil Service Commission (CSC) insisted that these claims are not due, because the disbursement of allowances comes within the framework of condi-tions that must be met, the most impor-tant of which is that the nature of work requires their disbursement, reports Al-Qabas daily.

They explained that all government jobs enjoy multiple fi nancial benefi ts especially after a package of decisions were issued in 2012. The approval of these benefi ts was carried out based on a comprehensive study, ensuring that they were disbursed to all those entitled

to them. At the same time, the employee had to be entitled to a fi nancial advan-tage in order to receive it.

The approval of any new fi nancial packages requires fi ve procedures, and depends on the need for fi nancial liquid-ity. The procedures fi rst begin with a request submitted by the employer to CSC, followed by a study conducted by a specialized team at CSC. Thirdly, the Ministry of Finance is addressed when confi rming the eligibility of the ap-proval of the new cadre. Fourthly, in the event of the Ministry of Finance’s ap-proval, the study is completed in CSC, and fi nally, the fi nal copy is submitted to CSC, which is entrusted with approval or not.

Defense minister confers top ranks to offi cersDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of De-fense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali AlSabah conferred on Thursday offi cers from the 22nd and 23rd batches the rank of brigadier gen-eral, in implementation of the Amiri decree issued by His Highness the Amir, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The Ministry of Defense said in a press statement that the ceremony began with the reading of the Amiri decree, after which Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali addressed the promoted offi cers a speech in which he con-veyed the greetings and congratulations of His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Prime

Minister.He also congratulated them on obtaining

the precious trust that came as a result of their efforts and sincere and tireless work in leading their units, raising their level of perfor-mance and readiness, and bearing the trust and responsibility in carrying out the various tasks and duties assigned to them. (KUNA)

‘Vaccinated tourists allowed’

Italian embassy starts issuing visasKUWAIT CITY, Oct 28: The Italian Min-istry of Health has issued the following new ordinance: travelers coming from Kuwait are now allowed to enter Italy for tourism and are no longer subject to quarantine.

Consequently, the Embassy of Italy has the pleasure to inform that issuing visas has resumed from Wednesday, 27th October and it will be possible to submit applications for Schengen visa through VFS Global.

For other types of visas: National, study, medical treatment, offi cial visits applica-tions must be submitted to the Embassy. For all details kindly visit our website:

https://ambalkuwait.esteri.it/Ambas-ciata_AlKuwait/en/informazioni_e_servizi/visti/visti.html

The entry in the Italian territory is how-ever only allowed to people vaccinated with one of the four vaccines recognized there: AstraZeneca, Pfi zer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna. Other conditions for entry in Italy are the submission of a “passenger lo-

cator form” available online or at the airport and a negative Covid-19 test (PCR) taken no more than 72 hours before landing.

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MoH statistics: The number of male and female Kuwaiti doctors working in the Ministry of Health has reached 4,054, and the number of male and female expatriate doctors 9,762. Also, there are 11,078 Ku-waiti and 507 non-Kuwaiti administrators, reports Al-Anba daily.

According to the latest statistics on the workforce of the Ministry of Health, the number of employees in the ministry reached 61,353, including 28,279 Kuwaitis and 33,074 non-Kuwaitis. They include 9,762 doctors, 2,298 dentists, 21,490 nursing staff, 1,667 pharmacists, 385 employees in assistant tech-nical posts, 605 in assistant posts, 11,585 ad-ministrators, 2,893 in non-medical technical posts, 10,321 in medical technical posts and 347 employees in the rodent control project.

Five new Wafra schoolsto serve region dwellersKUWAIT CITY, Oct 28: The Minister of Education, Dr. Ali Al-Mudhaf offi cially inaugurated fi ve schools in Wafra Residential Area in the presence of the Undersecretary of the ministry Dr. Ali Al-Yacoub, assistant undersecretaries, general directors of vari-ous departments and educational zones, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In his speech, Dr. Al-Mudhaf expressed his gladness in in-augurating these schools, which are affi liated to the Ahmadi Educational Zone and will contribute to serving the people of Wafra area and the nearby areas.

He said, “The Ministry of Education faced great challenges last year, but thanks to the efforts of its offi cials and employees of all educational and administrative bodies in all educational zones, it was able to confront and overcome those challenges, as it began holding paper-based tests to evaluate the students, which were successfully completed. As for the second chal-lenge, it was the safe return of students to schools after a break of more than a year and a half. It managed to succeed in achieving that desired goal as well. All of the schools have returned to normalcy, and things are going well.”

Dr. Al-Mudhaf highlighted that the Ministry of Education will face another challenge in the coming period, which is to monitor the education index.

He stressed that the ministry, represented by the Technical Guidance Department, is currently working on developing the necessary plans that will advance the education index at the local, Gulf and international levels. Director-General of Ah-madi Educational Zone Mansour Al-Daihani affi rmed that the Ministry of Education seeks to keep the wheel of education moving forward and always achieve success.

He indicated that the total number of schools in the district has become 195 schools of all educational levels, following the opening of fi ve schools in Wafra Residential Area. Al-Daihani thanked the Minister of Education Dr. Ali Al-Mudhaf for his follow-up and keenness to advance the educational system.

He also thanked the Undersecretary of the ministry Dr. Ali Al-Yacoub, the assistant undersecretaries, the general direc-tors of the educational zones, and all employees for their ef-forts that contributed to the opening of these new schools.

It is worth mentioning that the new schools are - Al-Tamweh Kindergarten, Nasra Al-Naqee Primary School for Girls, Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Awadhi Primary School for Boys, Abdulaziz Al-Zamel School for Boys (intermediate and secondary), and Moudhi Al-Issa School for Girls (intermediate and secondary).

Meanwhile, even though the Ministry of Education an-nounced this week as the deadline for conducting internal transfer of the educational staff members within various re-gions, an educational source affi rmed that the transfer period may be extended, in light of the continuation of new appoint-ments in schools, reports Al-Rai daily.

He indicated that, with each new appointment batch of teachers, transfer requests are implemented according to the needs of some schools for academic specializations.

The source explained that the implementation of compul-sory transfer for some academic disciplines in the educational zones is in the public interest. It is aimed to balance the defi -cit and surplus in light of the shortage of some disciplines as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and its repercussions, which caused the migration of several employees and the suspension of outsourcing process, especially after laws were updated for the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the most important of which is the need to match the job qualifi cation of the applicant for the position of teacher with the work permit.

KUNA photoChief of the General Staff of the Army Lieutenant-General Khaled Saleh Al-Sabah with the Commander of the Defense College in the United Kingdom Andrew Roy.

Military matters discussedKuwait’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Khaled Saleh Al-Sabah, discussed Thursday, with the Commander of United Kingdom’s De-fense College and accompanying del-egation, joint military matters.

In a statement by Chief of Staff com-mand, Lieutenant-General Al-Sabah re-ceived the commander and delegation

in offi ce, and conversed about topics of common interest, specifi cally military.

Attending the meeting was Head of military education authority Major-Gen-eral Fahad Al-Turaiji and Commander of Mubarak Al-Abdullah leadership and joint staff college, Major-General Talab Al-Fulaij as well as British defense attache Group Captain Paul Mulvaney. (KUNA)