Category: Uncategorized

Chaim Zach-Managing Director and CEO-Agric International Technology and Trade; Kabiru Rabiu-Group Executive Director-BUA Group; and Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed-Managing Director

Strong assets: Property funds are growing in popularity

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

As the real estate sector grows and investors look for more opportunities, real estate income funds and trusts are beginning to emerge. The investment environment is starting to develop as people look beyond shares as a way of growing capital. Equities are still the main vehicle for investment, with the stock market posting returns of 11% in the three years to the beginning of 2013. The debt market is also taking off thanks to the rising popularity of sukuks (Islamic bonds), issuance of which increased by 470% between 2008 and 2013, to reach a total of SR40.01bn ($10.7bn) in the latter year. Funds are also

Emmanuel Macron-President of France

Aiding diversification: Key players are investing further down the petrochemicals value chain

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Falling demand and rising competition for feedstock, alongside a national push to bring the price of raw materials closer to market rates, are combining to put pressure on Saudi Arabia’s petrochemicals industry. The price of petrochemicals dropped to a five-year low at the beginning of 2015 on the back of easing demand across a number of key markets. The operating environment is expected to remain challenging in the coming months, with little to indicate a significant pick-up in global economic activity, although forecasts of growth in Asian markets suggest a more positive outlook for producers in the longer term. Strong Fundamentals However, as Saudi Arabia’s

Xi Jinping-President of China

Wider horizons: The King Abdullah Scholarship Programme funds thousands of students to complete their studies abroad

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

A central pillar of Saudi Arabia’s drive to become a knowledge-based economy over the last 10 years has been the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP). In the budget for 2015, the Ministry of Finance announced that SR22.5bn ($6bn) had been allocated for the year to fund 207,000 Saudi citizens living abroad, including the scholars and their dependents and guardians. The sum represented 2.5% of the entire national budget and more than 10% of the allocation for education. It did not include scholarships given to employees

George Richani-CEO-Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

Air of authority: A look at the measures taken to improve corporate governance and disclosure standards

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Since its formation in July 2004, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has taken various measures to improve corporate governance and disclosure standards for Saudi Arabian public companies, which has also resulted in the improvement of such standards among private companies that may seek to be publicly listed in the future. Preparing The Ground The CMA adopted the Corporate Governance Regulations in November 2006, and since then through a series of board resolutions has made more and more of its rules binding. In addition to being