Panel set up in AHAB debt case

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has created a special panel in connection with the restructuring of heavily indebted Algosaibi conglomerate, whose accounts remain frozen, a company official said in remarks published on Monday. “The government committee that was formed is continuing its works and it summons the interested (parties) whenever the need arises,” Mohamed Salem Al-Hindi, vice president of Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers (AHAB), told a local Saudi daily.

Bank AlJazira profit rises 21%

RIYADH: Bank Al Jazira said on Monday that second-quarter profit rose 21 percent after it made higher income on lending. AlJazira made a net profit of SR121 million ($32.3 million) in the three months ending June 30, 2009 against a net profit of SR99.9 million in the year-earlier period, it said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website.

Riyad Bank posts SR918m profit

RIYADH: Riyad Bank said second-quarter net profit rose 1.8 percent as its core banking activities grew but it made no mention of new provisions despite worries about exposure to two troubled conglomerates. Riyad Bank, Saudi Arabia’s third-largest lender by market value, made a net profit of SR918 million ($244.8 million) in the three months ending June 30, 2009, up from SR906 million in the year-earlier period.

Qassim Cement Q2 profit dips

RIYADH: Qassim Cement Co. posted a 2.4 percent drop in net profit in second-quarter earnings, blaming a price fall after the Kingdom imposed an export ban. Qassim Cement made a net profit of SR148.2 million ($39.52 million) in the three months to June 30, compared with SR151.9 million a year earlier, the firm said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website.

Ernst & Young appointments

RIYADH: Abdulaziz Al-Sowailim is appointed managing partner, Ernst & Young Saudi Arabia. He will also run the Riyadh operations as office managing partner. Ahmed Reda is appointed Jeddah office managing partner and Phil Gandier is appointed leader, advisory services, Ernst & Young has said in a statement.

BA pilots accept pay cut

LONDON: British Airways pilots have voted overwhelmingly to accept a pay cut as part of a package of measures aimed at saving the struggling airline millions of pounds, a union said on Monday. The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) said members voted 94 percent in favor of a 2.6 percent pay cut and to reduce some allowances by a fifth to save BA 26 million pounds (30 million euros, $42 million) a year.