Mobily awarded GSN contract

RIYADH: Information Minister Mohammed Jamil Mullah signed a contract on Tuesday with Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), in which the telecom operator would build, run and operate phase 2 of the Government Secure Network (GSN). Abdulaziz Al-Saghyir, chairman of Mobily, and Khalid Al-Kaf, the company’s CEO, signed the contract on behalf of Mobily. The project will serve a great number of government institutions nationwide. It will serve the requirements of the e-government project “Yasser,” and will form the backbone of many future e-government projects. Mullah thanked the project’s stakeholders and urged them to do whatever they can to make it a success. He sought the cooperation of government agencies to get the project up and running on schedule.

PetroRabigh narrows Q4 loss

RIYADH: The Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (PetroRabigh) said on Tuesday it narrowed its net loss by 64.1 percent in the fourth quarter, which saw the commercial launch of its $10.1-billion complex. The joint-venture of Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical made a net loss of SR323.7 million ($86.3 million) in the three months to end-December, down from SR902.8 million a year earlier, it said in a statement posted on the bourse’s website. It attributed the narrowing to “improved margins of petrochemical and hydrocarbon products and the recognition of feedstock adjustment.”

Taiwan firm wins Kayan contract

RIYADH: Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. said on Tuesday it has awarded Taiwan’s CTCI Corp a deal to manage the construction of a 210,000 ton per year (tpy) amines plant at its mega complex. Mutlaq Al-Morished, Kayan’s chairman, said CTCI won the contract but did not give the value of the deal. Under the deal, awarded last week, CTCI will manage the engineering, procurement and construction (EPCM) for the plant, a source close to the deal said earlier on Tuesday.

Saudi Fransi to give SR1 dividend

RIYADH: Banque Saudi Fransi, 31.1-percent owned by France’s Credit Agricole, said on Tuesday it would give shareholders a SR1 ($0.27) dividend for 2009. The total dividend payout amounts to SR723.2 million, the bank said in a statement on the bourse website. Saudi Fransi made a net profit of SR2.47 billion in 2009, which was the lowest since 2005.

Zain Saudi revenues surge

RIYADH: Saudi mobile phone operator Zain Saudi Arabia said higher revenues from an 18 percent market share helped it narrow its net loss by 29.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Zain Saudi Arabia made a net loss of SR657 million ($175.2 million) in the three months to end-December versus SR930 million a year earlier, the firm said in a statement posted on the bourse’s website. EFG Hermes has forecast a loss of SR618 million for Zain Saudi Arabia’s fourth quarter earnings.

— Compiled by Arab News