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Agthia shareholders approve merger plan with dates giant Al Foah

Scion Industrial Engineering

Shareholders of UAE-based food major Agthia Group have approved a proposed merger with Al Foah Company, the world’s largest date processing and packaging company.

The backing was given at Agthia’s 15th general assembly meeting, a statement said.

Agthia said the combined group will have the “scale, ambition, and strong capabilities across the value chain to support its future expansion plans as one of the top ten consumer food and beverage groups in the Middle East”.

Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, chairman, Agthia Group and chief investment officer of parent company ADQ, said: “The shareholders’ approval of the combination with Al Foah supports Agthia’s vision and our plans to expand the offering of premium quality products in our portfolio. We embrace opportunities that allow us to strengthen the food and beverage sector in the UAE and wider region, and also emphasise our commitment to an outstanding customer experience.”

Alan Smith, CEO of Agthia Group, added: “The strategic combinations with Al Foah and Al Faysal are two of our key achievements of the current financial year, reinforcing Agthia’s vital role in the region’s food and beverages sector. Upon completion of the transaction with Al Foah, the group will immediately rise to become a regional champion in the date market with substantial global prospects, diversifying its product portfolio and expanding its international footprint.”

Under the terms of the agreement received on October 6 from General Holding Corporation (Senaat), Senaat will transfer the entire issued share capital of its wholly-owned subsidiary Al Foah to Agthia, in exchange for the issuance of mandatory convertible instruments with a nominal value of AED1 each in an aggregate principal amount of AED450 million. These shall be convertible, immediately following completion of the transaction, into 120,000,000 ordinary shares of par value AED1 each in the capital of Agthia.

The issued share capital of Agthia will increase from AED600 million to AED720 million as a result.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2020, after which Agthia Group will be 59.17 percent owned by Senaat, part of ADQ.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/retail/455292-agthia-shareholders-approve-merger-plan-with-dates-giant-al-foah

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74pc export through pvt banks in 2018

scion industrial engineering

Private commercial banks are dominating the country’s international trade as around 74 percent export in 2018 took place through them.

On the other hand, only 7 percent export was done through the state-owned banks and the remaining 19 percent through foreign commercial banks, according to a study of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM).

In 2011, the study report said, 71 percent export was through the private commercial banks while 18 percent through the state-owned commercial banks and the rest through foreign commercial banks.

The research report was presentedyesterday at a daylong review workshop at the BIBM in the city, said a press release.

The workshop was organized simultaneously at BIBM auditorium in Dhaka and Bangladesh Bank (BB) Sylhet office (through video conferencing).

BIBM Executive Committee Chairman and BB Deputy Governor SM Moniruzzaman was present at the workshop as the chief guest while Executive Director of the central bank Sylhet Office Syed Tariquzzaman, former Dhaka University Professor Barkat-e-Khuda and BIBM supernumerary professors Md Yasin Ali and Helal Ahmed Chowdhury spoke, among others, at the workshop.

BB Executive Director and BIBM Director General M Abdur Rahim chaired the program.

BIBM Professor and Director (Training) Dr Shah M Ahsan Habib presented the research paper titled “Trade Services Operations of Banks”.

The study identified the problem areas as well as success factors in trade services and operations of banks in Bangladesh.

Considering the concerning issues of trade based money laundering, compliance requirements, and other financial crimes, SM Moniruzzaman said, BB has strengthened requirements to enhance the trade quality.

“Our policies are now developing according to market needs and risks. The ‘New Guideline for Foreign Exchange Transaction’ has already been published,” he added.

He said integration between supervisors and the schedule bankers made the policies more operationally effective.

With this view, he said, Foreign Exchange Policy Department (FEPD) has established an AD forum with the trade heads in the scheduled banks.

Moreover, enforcement of online reporting and monitoring system by the Bangladesh Bank has brought positive changes in terms of decline in irregularities by banks and improvement in data accuracy, he added.

Senior bank executives, academicians, media representatives, faculty members, officers of BIBM participated in the review workshop.

source:http://www.dailyindustry.news/74pc-export-pvt-banks-2018/