Category: Business & Finance

Abu Dhabi – Gaza – Together – The United Arab Emirates, in partnership with the United States Agency for Refugee Assistance in the Near East (ANERA), announced the successful delivery of 400 tons of food aid to the brotherly people of Gaza, allocated to the northern Gaza Strip.

The delivery and distribution of life-saving food aid, which will provide food for approximately 120,000 people, comes within the framework of the UAE’s firm commitment to providing relief and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said: The United Arab Emirates’ safe and successful delivery and distribution of food aid to the Gaza Strip, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, represents a very important step in the framework of expanding the scope of current efforts regarding aid, and the UAE is committed to its solidarity. Firmly committed to supporting the brotherly Palestinian people and alleviating the suffering of the Gaza Strip, the UAE also co
ntinues to work with international partners with stronger determination than ever before to intensify efforts to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most.

For his part, Sean Carroll, President and CEO of ANERA, said that the US Agency for Refugee Assistance in the Near East (ANERA) and all those to whom we provide assistance are extremely grateful for the support provided by the government and people of the United Arab Emirates, which allows us to deliver food aid. And meeting the very large needs in the northern Gaza Strip.

Following the allocation of US$15 million within the ‘Amalthea’ Fund to support aid flows in Gaza, the UAE continues to cooperate with partners and international organizations to effectively deliver urgent food and relief supplies via land, air and sea, to enhance the humanitarian response and meet the needs of the brotherly people of Gaza.

To date, the UAE has delivered more than 31,000 tons of urgent humanitarian supplies, including food, relief, and medical supplies, which wer
e sent via 256 flights, 46 airdrops, 1,231 trucks, and six ships.

Furthermore, the UAE has launched a number of other sustainable relief projects to provide food and water to the residents of Gaza. These efforts include establishing five automated bakeries to meet the needs of 72,000 people, providing flour to eight existing bakeries to meet the needs of 17,140 people, and establishing six water desalination plants (operating with a total capacity of 1.2 million gallons of water) benefiting up to 600,000 people daily.

Source: Maan News Agency

Jordan – Together – The General Assembly of ‘Siniora’ Company for Regular and Extraordinary Food Industries, in its two meetings held on 04/28/2024, approved the distribution of cash dividends worth 4.2 million dinars, at a rate of 15% of the company’s paid-up capital, amounting to 28 million dinars, and the distribution of bonus shares worth 2,147,059 shares/dinars through capitalization of 2,147,059 dinars from the retained earnings balance as at the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

Commenting on the company’s financial results for the year 2023, Mr. Tarek Al-Akkad, Chairman of the Board of Directors, explained that Siniora Company achieved stable results over the past year despite all the challenges and difficulties that the company faced during the war on our brothers in Gaza and the rise in bank interest, especially in the company’s branch in Republic of Turkey, in addition to the negative impact on the company’s results as a result of the application of International Accounting Standard No. 29. Al-Akkad ex
plained that despite all these difficult circumstances that the region witnessed, which were also represented by the increase in the costs of raw materials and shipping expenses as a result of global events, the company was able to achieve profits. A net profit of 4,428 million dinars compared to net profits of 5,224 million dinars in the previous year 2022, supported by an increase in the company’s sales, which amounted to 146,960 million Jordanian dinars compared to the previous year, amounting to 133,628 million dinars, with a growth rate of 10%.

Al-Aggad explained that the company successfully completed the issuance of bonds worth $80 million in light of these exceptional circumstances, which indicates the strength of the company’s financial position and the confidence of the banking sector in the company’s operational and financial performance. Al-Aggad stated that issuing bonds at a fixed interest rate of 7.75% for a period of five years is considered a major achievement for the company. It will lead t
o reducing bank interest and improving the company’s results during this year.

Al-Akkad indicated that the company is in the final stages of raising the company’s capital in cash by approximately 11 million dinars and is awaiting the approval of the Securities Commission to implement it. This will also enhance the company’s ability to continue implementing its investments and expansions, especially in building the company’s new factory in Jeddah – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Al-Aqqad added that the company continued to support the local community in all areas of its presence by continuing to support social responsibility, as the company contributed to supporting most of the medical, educational and social sectors and helping our people in the Gaza Strip, as the amount of support provided by the company last year amounted to 455 thousand dinars. Compared to 366 thousand dinars the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Engineer Magdi Al-Sharif, CEO of the company, confirmed that the company maintained t
he level of its sales in the Jordanian and Palestinian markets despite all the circumstances surrounding the region and the loss of its sales to our people in the Gaza Strip during the last quarter of 2023, and the company’s sales in the Gulf witnessed a remarkable growth of 12% and 30% in the Turkish market as a result of inflation, and this was reflected in the company’s financial results for last year. He added that the company has begun the first stages of establishing its factory in Jeddah – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which will be a qualitative leap for the company and will contribute to supporting the company’s sales in the Saudi market.

Siniora Company is a public joint stock company listed on the Jordanian financial market and owns the trademarks ‘Siniora’, ‘Unium’, ‘Bolognese’ and ‘Al Massa’. It is one of the companies affiliated with the Arab Palestinian Investment Company – APIC.

Source: Maan News Agency

Manama, The Bahrain All Share Index closed at 2,022.29 points, marking a decrease of 8.89 points below the previous closing.

This decrease was due to the fall in the communications services sector and financials sector.

The Bahrain Islamic Index closed at 774.13 points, marking a decrease of 11.42 points below the previous closing.

Results indicated that 61 equity transactions took place with a volume of 591,295 worth BD 217,929.

Investors traded mainly in the financials sector, representing 57.80% of the total value of securities traded.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

During the month of April 2024, Iraqi oil exports recorded a slight decrease of 0.3% on a monthly basis, with the continued exceeding of the quota for oil production within the OPEC alliance.

According to figures published by the Specialized Energy Platform (based in Washington), Iraqi oil exports decreased by 10,000 barrels per day, to 3.413 million barrels per day.

This compares to 3.423 million barrels per day in March 2024, according to preliminary monthly data from the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company ‘SOMO.’

Iraq’s total oil exports in April 2024, which 3.364 million barrels per day were shipped from southern Gulf, down from 3.377 million barrels per day in March, and 15,000 barrels per day were sent by truck across the border to Jordan, unchanged during the month.

Another 34,000 barrels of heavy Qayyarah crude were shipped from the southern port of Khor Al-Zubair, up from 31,000 barrels per day in March.

Gulf exports consisted of 2.177 million barrels per day of Basra Medium crude, and 1.187 million ba
rrels per day of Basra Heavy crude last April.

This compares to 2.203 million barrels per day of Basra Medium crude and 1.174 million barrels per day of Basra Heavy crude in March 2024.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil stressed the importance of accelerating the investment of associated gas to support the energy sector in Iraq.

Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani, said, during his meeting with representatives of international companies working within the licensing rounds to develop oil fields on Monday, that the ministry has placed among its priorities the sustainability of oil production and optimal investment of associated gas, by supporting projects that achieve a new addition to national production. .

The Minister of Oil indicated the keenness of the government and the Ministry to enhance cooperation with international companies operating in Iraq in order to achieve common interests and goals.

In turn, Ministry Spokesman Assem Jihad said, ‘The meeting included discussing topics and issues of common interest, in addition to studying the proposals presented that aim to expand and enhance the horizons of bilatera
l cooperation between national oil companies and their foreign counterparts through joint management of the oil fields.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The signing ceremony of a memorandum of cooperation between the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) and the Japan International Cooperation Corporation (JICA) took place today, under the patronage of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, Muhammad Tamim, and the technical advisor to the Prime Minister, Chairman of the Diwani Order Committee for Sovereign Guarantees, Muhammad Sahib Al-Daraji.

The Prime Minister’s media office stated that the memorandum of cooperation comes within the framework of the government’s initiative to grant sovereign guarantees to the private sector, and also within the work of the special committee for sovereign guarantees covered by the General Budget Law for the year 2023, and Cabinet Resolution No. (23404) for the year 2023.

The memorandum includes the Japanese Foundation financing projects for the Iraqi private sector, to establish factories inside Iraq, with the aim of localizing the national industry in the field of
pharmaceutical, construction, chemical, petrochemical, energy, agricultural and food industries. This is in implementation of what was included in the government program, to support and localize strategic industries, and based on the directives of the Prime Minister in this regard.

In light of the memorandum, an initial amount of $200 million will be provided to finance important projects that provide a service to the Iraqi citizen and economy, and which will contribute to reducing foreign imports, as well as reducing hard currency transfers abroad.

According to the statement, the memorandum aims to raise the efficiency of Iraqi companies to the global level, through openness to international banks for financing, and controlling quality by concluding agreements with major industrial countries.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Manama, Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the world’s largest aluminium smelters, has inked an agreement with SAP, a market leader in enterprise application software, to upgrade its enterprise resource planning solution (ERP) to SAP’s latest software – S/4HANA Cloud. With this move, Alba will accelerate its digital transformation journey and Industry 4.0 adoption to adapt to ever-changing business needs.

The signing ceremony was held on 02 May 2024 at Alba’s premises, which was attended by Ali Al Baqali, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, and Ahmed Jaber Al-Faifi, Senior Vice President of SAP Middle East Africa – North, along with senior officials from Alba and SAP.

Ali Al Baqali, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, commented on this occasion “At Alba, we are not just transforming digitally, we are revolutionising aluminium production. This advanced solution isn’t just about our digital transformation, it’s rather the catalyst that propels Alba to the forefront of Industry 4.0. Embracing advanced computing a
nd unlocking real-time data will not only optimise our operations but empower every facet of our business to innovate the future of aluminium production in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.”

Saquib Ahmad, Managing Director, Bahrain, SAP, said “This new deployment represents a significant milestone in Alba’s digital transformation journey and aims to further align its operations with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 while enhancing services to customers and partners. By streamlining, integrating, and automating core business functions and processes, Alba will be free to focus on innovating its core business and setting new industry standards.”

The new SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a complete, modular, and award-winning ERP software designed for the cloud, offering scalable architecture, real-time data processing, integrated advanced analytics, better optimisation for speed and performance as well as enhanced user experience for Alba users, customers and suppliers.

Alba’s extensive partnership with SAP, spanning ov
er 25 years, is clearly evident in applying SAP solutions across the Company’s core functions like production, maintenance, sales, procurement, HR, and more.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Beijing, China’s smartphone shipments grew by 6.5 percent year on year to 69.3 million units in the first quarter of 2024, data from a recent industry report showed.

Although this growth figure was supported by a low comparison base year, it marked the second consecutive quarter of growth, adding momentum to market recovery, according to the report from global market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Xinhua News Agency reported.

The market saw better than expected shipment figures, driven mainly by strong growth on the part of both Honor and Huawei, while Lunar New Year festivities in the first quarter also stimulated shopping sentiment and demand for low- to mid-range devices, IDC said.

The IDC report also stated that folding devices were seeing constant and significant growth this year. Overall market growth in terms of foldable devices in the first quarter surged 83 percent year on year, recording a staggering shipment volume of 1.86 million units.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Ministry of Water Resources confirmed that Iraq is seriously shifting to best management of the water file through the use of modern irrigation techniques and equipment.

The Minister of Water Resources, Aoun Dhiab, stated. In a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA), ‘Iraq is currently turning seriously to the best management of the water file, and there is a complete priority and seriousness for the government, with direct guidance from the Prime Minister personally, to take care of this file.’

He explained, ‘The government has made financial allocations to purchase modern irrigation equipment and the real trend is to use the closed irrigation system on agricultural lands instead of the open irrigation system,’ noting that ‘The Fourth Baghdad International Water Conference witnessed a series of meetings and scientific workshops that achieved clear results with the aim of reaching real, practical understandings, “Guaranteed application on the ground.”

He added, ‘The Baghdad International Wa
ter Conference is a qualitative event to shed light on the water situation in Iraq and reach important results for the management of water resources in Iraq,’ stressing the necessity of support for Iraq from all Arab parties and neighboring countries regarding justice in the distribution of water shares and the common interest of the countries from which the rivers’ waters originate.’

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Council of Ministers of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) held today its 112th meeting at the level of delegates of the Energy and Oil Ministers of the member states in Kuwait City, headed by Sheikh Meshal bin Jabr Al Thani, the representative of the State of Qatar in the Executive Office of the organization, which His country will chair the session in 2024.

The Ministry of Oil stated in a statement, “The members of the Council then discussed the items on the agenda, including the item approving the final accounts of the organization (the General Secretariat and the Judicial Authority) for the year 2023, and the Council issued its Resolution No. 1/112 regarding the approval of those final accounts.”

The meeting was briefed on the progress made in the project to develop and restructure the organization’s work, while developing its activities and reconsidering the systems and laws that govern its work, in a way that is compatible with the challenges and new developments in the
field of energy. The Council recommended to the General Secretariat the importance of intensifying efforts and cooperating with the consultant in order to complete the study, preparing complete visions of the strategic objectives and completing them according to the specified timetable.’

The Council also reviewed the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the General Secretariat, which included following up on global oil conditions, following up on environmental and climate change affairs, the progress of work in the Information Bank, and the activities organized by the General Secretariat and in which it participated, and recommended the importance of continuing such activities and working to intensify them with regard to the item related to the OAPEC Award for Scientific Research for the year 2024, the field related to ‘new and renewable energy’ was chosen as an area for submitting research to obtain this award.

The Ministerial Council “adopted all the recommendations issued by the Executive
Office regarding the items presented and urged the General Secretariat to work on putting them into actual implementation. The Council concluded its meeting by expressing its thanks and appreciation once again to the General Secretariat of the organization and to the State of Kuwait for their efforts to hold and succeed this meeting, wishing everyone more effort and giving in order to achieve the goals entrusted to the organization.’

Source: National Iraqi News Agency