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Forbes
magazine's List of Billionaires ranked Prince
Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, chairman of Kingdom
Holding Company, at #5 with $23.5 billion
net worth; Mr. Sulaiman Bin Abdul Al Rajhi, chairman
of Al
Rajhi Banking & Investment Corp. at # 80 with
$5.6 billion ; and Egypt's Sawiris family, owners
of Orascom
Telecom Holding, at #91 with $5.2 billion.
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Iran's
public sector car giant Iran
Khodro has signed an agreement with DaimlerChrysler
for assembling limited numbers of luxury Mercedes-Benz
in Iran. Mercedes Benz 200, 250 and 350-E models
will begin rolling off the production line later
in 2005.
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Emirates
Airline has launched its worldwide advertising
campaign to mark its official partner status of
the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
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Euromoney
Magazine has presented Saudi Arabia based, National
Commercial Bank (NCB), with its new international
award for best Islamic asset management during
2004 for its role in innovating investment funds
that comply with Shariah and also meets the needs
of the changing markets.
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Indonesia's
largest bank, Bank
Mandiri, said it will provide Rp6.7 trillion
(US$744 million) in credit to finance government
infrastructure projects this year. The fund will
be used for toll roads, electric power and telecommunication
projects.
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Malaysia's
third largest lender RHB Bank reportedly has obtained
Central Bank approval to begin talks to sell up
to 30 percent in its new Islamic banking arm,
RHB Islamic Bank Bhd., to the Saudi-based Dallah
Albaraka Group (DAG). DAG is one of the world's
top Islamic financial groups, with operations
in 43 countries.
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Gulf
Air, jointly owned by Bahrain, Oman and Abu
Dhabi (UAE), carried a record number of passengers
last year with an overall passenger revenue increase
of 27.5 from the year before.
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Ettihad
Etisalat, the first competitor of Saudi
Telecom giant STC, will have its GSM service,
Mobily , running in Saudi Arabia by the middle
of the year. It is seeking to capture 60 per cent
of the Saudi GSM market within four years.
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At
the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Forum
to be held on 20-21 March in Jeddah, Eng. Adel
Fakieh, Chairman of Savola
Group, will present a keynote address covering
"Supporting National Causes - Bridging The Gap
Between Government And The Private Sector."
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Pakistan's
Privatization Commission has shortlisted eight
firms for the sale of a 26% stake in state-owned
Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd.(PTCL). Shortlisted
firms include Emirates (ETISALAT),
Telecom
Malaysia, Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunication
Co., Saudi
Oger, Turkcell,
and Saudi
Telecom.
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In
the sell-off of 55 % of the state telecom company
Turk
Telekom, six front-runners have emerged; Spain's
Telefonica, Telecom Italia, a joint venture of
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat)/Cetel
Calik Enerji/Dubai Islamic Bank, Saudi
Oger, a joint venture involving Turkey's Koc
Holding and Sabanci
Holding and Turkish business group OYAK.
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Emaar
Properties of Dubai is partnering with Giorgio
Armani SPA to develop a worldwide group of luxury
hotels and vacation resorts. The first Armani
Hotel will be located in the Burj Dubai tower,
set to open in 2008.
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Indonesia's
largest private bank, Bank
Central Asia reported a net profit of Rp3.2
trillion (US$355 million) last year, up 33.67
per cent from the previous year. Its net interest
income of Rp6.58 trillion was the main contributor
to the surge in its net profit.
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The
US$2.35 billion Islamic deal to finance operations
of Etihad
Etisalat was awarded Islamic Finance Deal
of the Year at the Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards.
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Indonesian
noodle maker Indofood
has announced a joint venture with Nestlé to manufacture,
sell, market and distribute culinary products
in Indonesia and eventually for export. which
will be owned 50/50 by Indofood and Nestle. It
will be called Nestle Indofood Citarasa Indonesia.
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Arcelik,
part of Turkey's leading industrial conglomerate
Koç
Holding, with a 50 percent share of the domestic
market for white goods including refrigerators,
washing machines and ovens, reported a sharp rise
in 2004 profit and revenuews.. Its net profit
rose nearly 70 percent to 293.20 million new lira.
Net sales reached 4.91 billion new lira ($3.83
billion), up from 3.80 billion in 2003.
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Genting
Bhd has been voted as Malaysia's top company
for overall leadership in The Asian Wall Street
Journal 200 annual survey. Malaysia's largest
mobile operator, Maxis Communications Bhd was
recognized for being a company with "high quality
products/ services" and "innovative in responding
to customer needs".
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