• Home
• /
• Business

Nestlé Begins TechnoPark Operations

Built over an area of 6.5 million square feet, the new 1.78 million square foot facility is currently devoted to producing powdered milk and the repacking of Mackintosh’S Quality Street chocolates. Nestlé plans to start manufacturing chocolates and wafers, as well as water from the new facility later in 2010.

“The production capacity of the new facility will be more than 100,000 tonnes per year. We have made enough provision to expand our operations to meet growing market demands for the next few years,” said Yves Manghardt, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Middle East FZE, commenting on Nestlé’s new manufacturing facility. — business@khaleejtimes.com

ASEC Acquires More Cement Stake

CAIRO — ASEC Holding, Citadel Capital’s Platform Company in the regional cement production, engineering and construction industries, announced on Sunday that it has acquired an additional 9.48 per cent of ASEC Cement, one of its key Portfolio Companies, in a deal worth $80 million in cash and shares.

The transaction will see ASEC Holding raise its stake in ASEC Cement to 61.04 per cent. The selling party is the Emirates International Investment Company, a long-time limited partner in a number of Citadel Capital’s Opportunity Specific Funds and a shareholder in the firm.

“This transaction values ASEC Cement at EGP14.68 per share against a par value of EGP10, a fair price for both parties that reflects ASEC Cement’s outstanding growth potential as it moves steadily toward controlling over 12 million tonns of production capacity per year by 2013,” noted Citadel Capital Managing Director and Co-Founder Hisham El Khazindar. — business@khaleejtimes.com

Waha to Consider Convertible Bonds

ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi-listed Waha Capital may opt for a convertible bond issue at its board meeting on Monday, a company spokesman said on Sunday.

“It is an option the board will discuss at its meeting tomorrow. There’s a possibility,” the spokesman said declining to elaborate.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi postponed plans to issue new convertible bonds in dollars and dirhams until market conditions improve, its chief executive said on February 17.

Shares of Waha Capital are up 2.2 per cent in early trading, outperforming the market, which falls 0.6 per cent. — Reuters

Zain, Bharti to Sign Letter of Intent Soon

KUWAIT CITY — Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain and India’s Bharti Airtel are expected to sign a letter of intent for the $9 billion African assets deal this week, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Sunday.

The letter will include the official offer and the schedule of payment, Al Rai newspaper said in an unsourced report.

Bharti is in exclusive talks until March 25 to buy Zain’s African business, excluding Morocco and Sudan. It is the Indian firm’s third attempt at gaining a foothold in a continent that offers a last opportunity for major subscriber growth.

Another Kuwaiti paper, Al Anbaa, said Bharti is to meet on Sunday with a Kuwaiti Islamic lender about financing the deal. It did not provide further details.

Bharti had said it will have clarity by next week on funding its offer for Zain’s operations in 15 African countries. The two firms have agreed on an enterprise value of $10.7 billion for the assets, including $1.7 billion of debt on Zain Africa’s books. — Reuters

IBQ 2^nd Highest Earning Bank in Qatar

DOHA — IBQ announced its financial results for 2009, achieving the second highest growth rate in earnings for Qatar based banks.

Net profits increased 12 per cent to reach QR342 million as compared to QR305 million in 2008 due to a 15 per cent rise in Annual Operating Income. This increase was achieved against the backdrop of the international economic crisis and is a further indicator of the strength of the local economy and the robust business performance of the bank.

Customer deposits were equally buoyant with a rise of 14 per cent on the previous year, finishing at QR13.1 billion compared to QR11.5 billion in 2008. Net Interest income grew by 29 per cent to reach QR484 million and income from Islamic financing and Investment activities reached QR38.4 million, and increase of 90 per cent over the same period last year. — business@khaleejtimes.com