JEDDAH, 30 March 2006 — The elections committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) announced yesterday that elections for the sector committees at the chamber will begin Saturday with five sectors out of the 38. The five sector committees are: real estate, private schools, contractors, commerce and the lawyers committee. The chamber’s members would vote for 15 candidates out of the list of nominees.
Madinah Chamber
to Have 15 Members
Arab News
MADINAH — The Ministry of Commerce and Industry raised the number of Madinah’s Chamber of Commerce board of directors to 15, reported Al-Eqtisadia. Meanwhile, the chamber will begin receiving on Saturday the election applications of candidates nominating themselves for its board of directors. The businesswomen’s center at the chamber is inviting the businesswomen in Madinah to visit the center to inform them about the rules and regulations for the elections and encourage them to run.
Flour Mill Company
in Tabuk Planned
Arab News
TABUK — Governor of Tabuk region and the honorary president of Tabuk Agricultural Development Company, Prince Fahd ibn Sultan, said that the company is in the final stages of establishing an independent company for flour mills. The new company is based in Dhiba with a capital of between SR100 million-150 million and TADCO is one of the largest shareholders in it while part of its shares will be floated, reported Al-Madinah newspaper.
EFG-Hermes Expects
Saudi License
Reuters
CAIRO — Egypt’s EFG-Hermes Holdings expects to secure an investment banking license to operate in Saudi Arabia but it is not yet guaranteed, the firm’s head of investor relations said yesterday. Nermeen Ameen said EFG-Hermes hoped that it would hear during the second quarter whether it had won the licence. “We have had a meeting with authorities there and the outcome of the meeting was positive. Do we expect to take it? Yes,” she said. “It looks positive but not guaranteed yet.”
Dubai’s Tecom
Outbids Vivendi
Reuters
TUNIS — Dubai’s Tecom-Dig outbid French Vivendi in a tender for 35 percent of Tunisie Telecom, offering 3.052 billion Tunisian dinars ($2.24 billion) versus 2.760 billion dinars offered by the French group, officials said at an open auction session. Vivendi offered 2.44 billion dinars early this month to move ahead of Tecom-Dig on 2.377 billion, and the two companies were selected as a result by the Tunis government to bid in the auction, out of an original field of seven players.
Deera’s Net Profit
Soars 113 Percent
Reuters
KUWAIT — Kuwait’s Al-Deera Holding Co. said yesterday its 2005 net profit rose 113 percent to 90.4 million dinars ($309.6 million), but said almost 86 percent of the gains represented “unrealized earnings”. Deera, whose 2004 net stood at 42.4 million dinars, said in a statement posted on the bourse website that earnings per share rose to 362 fils from 169 fils in the year-ago period. It said 77.3 million dinars of its 2005 profit were gains in the value of its portfolio booked as earnings without the underlying assets being sold to realize those gains.
