Month: March 2021

Saudi Arabia has agreed a deal with Lamor Corporation for a project that will provide rapid response operations to combat oil spills and leaks of other harmful substances in the Red Sea.

Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli, the minister of environment, water and agriculture and chairman of the board of directors of the National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC), and Fred Larsen, board member of the Finnish environmental company, signed the contract. It will help to protect the marine environment off the shores of the Kingdom and build national capacities in this field.

“The project aims to implement response operations and combat oil spills and other harmful substances and accidents in the marine environment on the Red Sea strip, using ships and aircraft specialized in rapid-response operations,” according to a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency.
It will also enhance Saudi Arabia’s ability to respond rapidly to oil spills and other environmental dangers through the development of contingency plans, simulated response programs, and mechanisms for their implementation.
Under the contract, three platforms will be established to provide a quick response to oil spills and other threats to the Red Sea coast. In addition, training programs will be developed to enhance the capabilities of national teams of specialists in this field, and to facilitate the transfer of international expertise.

The NCEC works to promote and sustain the environment, and contribute to the prosperity of development sectors to improve the quality of life in the Kingdom. It works with other authorities to improve environmental compliance by monitoring pollution and providing environmental assessment, oversight and guidance. It also sets environmental standards and regulations, tracks and controls pollution levels and sources, and issues and renews environmental licenses and permits for businesses.

source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/1822916/saudi-arabia

Investcorp Holdings has raised about $1 billion for its first private equity fund focused on North American assets, according to people familiar the matter.

The biggest private equity and alternative asset manager in the Middle East is set to complete a first close on the fund soon, and aims to eventually raise about $2 billion, the people said.

The fund will focus on investing in areas including technology and data companies, along with supply chain and industrial services.

Among the fund’s backers are a Middle East sovereign wealth fund and large asset managers from the US and Europe, the people said, declining to be named because the information isn’t public.

Bahrain-based Investcorp, which oversees about $34 billion, is raising more funds for specific uses as it looks to boost assets under management. It’s previously tended to book deals on its own balance sheet and sell them on to investors.

Set up in 1982, the money manager is already the Gulf’s largest private investor in US real estate and has said it wants to boost its assets under management to $50 billion in the coming years. Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala in 2017 acquired a 20 percent stake in Investcorp, which has backed companies including Tiffany & Co and Gucci.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/banking-finance/459766-investcorp-is-said-to-raise-1-billion-for-north-american-deals

Shops and industrial enterprises in Bahrain can open from Thursday while restaurants will stay closed to in-house diners, the Health Ministry said, as the Gulf state eases restrictions designed to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
Bahrain shuttered non-essential shops and businesses in late March and barred entry of foreign visitors, but did not impose a curfew, unlike some other Gulf states.
Health Ministry officials told a news conference on Wednesday that employees and customers must wear face masks and practice physical distancing. Cinemas, sports facilities and salons remain closed.
Bahrain has reported 3,720 infections with eight deaths from the virus. The total count in the six Gulf Arab states exceeds 76,000 with 421 deaths.
Other Gulf countries eased curfews and other social and business restrictions with the start of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan two weeks ago.
Bahrain this week opened a 152-bed COVID-19 field hospital intensive care unit on an empty piece of land in Sitra, as part of a plan to create 500 additional ICU beds for critical cases.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/1670561/middle-east