Business

DUBAI - State run Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil company, said on Sunday it has appointed five new members to its board including a female executive, a milestone for Saudi Arabia and the oil industry where there are few women executives.

The appointments come as the Saudi government plans to float around 5 percent of Aramco in an initial public offering (IPO) later this year or early 2019.

Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan and Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammed al-Tuwaijri were appointed as members of the board of directors, Aramco said in a statement.

They are joined by Lynn Laverty Elsenhans, the former chairwoman, president and CEO of U.S. oil refiner Sunoco Inc. from 2008 to 2012.

Elsenhans was named by Forbes as one of the world's most powerful women in 2008. Prior to her role at Sunoco, Elsenhans was the executive vice president of global manufacturing for Royal Dutch Shell, where she worked for more than 28 years.

She also served on Baker Hughes's board of directors from 2012 to July 2017 and sits on the board of GlaxoSmithKline.

The five new members of Aramco's board will join six returning members including Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who is also Aramco's chairman, and Amin Nasser, Aramco's chief executive.

Appointments to the 11-member board of directors are made by the Saudi cabinet.

The outgoing board members are Majid Al-Moneef, advisor to the Saudi Royal Court; Khaled al-Sultan, Rector of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals; and Peter Woicke, former managing director of the World Bank and former vice president of the International Finance Corporation
 

LONDON — Britain's supermarket chain Sainsbury on Saturday said it was in talks to merge with rival Asda, in a deal that would create a retail giant with around 30 per cent share of the British market.

"Sainsbury's confirms that it and Walmart Inc. are in advanced discussions regarding a combination of the Sainsbury's and Asda businesses," Sainsbury said in a statement.

Britain's biggest retail chain is currently Tesco with a market share of 27.6 per cent, followed by Sainsbury and Asda with 15.8 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel.

The combined company would have 2,800 stores.

Sainsbury said a further statement on the proposed merger would be made at 06:00 GMT on Monday.

The Press Association reported the deal would be worth £10 billion (11.4 billion euros, $13.8 billion).

Richard Lim, from economics research consultancy Retail Economics, told the BBC that the merger would be a "game changer in the UK grocery market of epic proportions".

"The potential tie-up would see the combined business take Tesco head-on," he said.

AMMAN — The Jordan Phosphate Mining Company's (JPMC) has managed to cut down on losses in 2017 by almost 50 per cent to reach JD46.6 million from JD90 million in 2016, JPMC Chairman Mohammad Thneibat said on Saturday. 

This has been possible through several measures that the company has taken to deal with a“sharp” decline in the prices of phosphate and its products, he noted, according to a statement of the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The chairman made these remarks during the annual meeting of the company's general assembly meeting which convened on Saturday.

Thneibat said that the company’s financial results have  improved. The JPMC has increased its sales volume, as its sales of raw phosphate in 2017 reached 8.8 million tonnes, compared to 7.9 million tonnes in 2016.

In 2017, the company exported 5.2 million tonnes of phosphate, compared to 4.7 million tonnes in 2016, he noted. 

The company’s net sales stood at JD586.7 million in 2017, compared to JD549.7 million in 2016, he added.

Moreover, JPMC's general assembly approved a recommendation by the company’s board on settlements for cases unraveled by the Anti-Corruption Commission, underwhich the company will retreive JD20 million to the company, according to Petra.  The ACC has investigated several tenders and found that construction tenders were over-rated and decided that the company was entitled to these sums of money. 

AMMAN — The Arab Potash Company’s (APC) net profit after taxes, provisions and mining royalties for Q1, 2018 reached JD25.7 million, according to a company statement. 

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, APC President and CEO Brent Heimann said the mining company has achieved a “record” volume of potash production, reaching 597,000 metric tonnes during the first quarter of 2018 compared with 557, 000 metric tonnes in the same period in 2017. 

He said the APC’s sales revenues increased by 10 per cent during the first quarter of this year compared with those of the same period last year, attributing the rise to higher potash prices at the international level.

During last week’s general assembly meeting Heimann said that APC and its subsidiary and affiliate companies boosted the Kingdom’s foreign currency reserves by $845 million in 2017.

AMMAN — Arab Bank Group reported $220.3 million in net profit after tax for the first quarter of 2018.

Its net operating income before provisions and taxes reached $335 million, recording a double digit growth of 15 per cent, according to a statement of the Arab Bank Group. 

Loans and advances grew by 5 per cent to reach $25.5 billion, while customer deposits stood at $33.4 billion.

Sabih Masri, chairman of the Board of Directors said the performance of the Arab Bank attests to the success of the Group in generating strong results despite a challenging operating environment.

Nemeh Sabbagh, chief executive officer, stated that the group continues with its growth with first quarter results recording a solid 15 per cent increase in net operating income. 

The strong performance was driven by growth in core banking income with net interest income increasing by 12 per cent, he added, according to the group’s statement.

The Arab Bank Group enjoys high liquidity and strong and robust capitalisation as its capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.1 per cent as of 31 March 2018, he elaborated.

AMMAN — Jordan’s efforts to attract investment for areas of the economy identified as ripe for development, against a backdrop of wide-ranging fiscal reforms, are explored in a new report from the global research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG).

The Report: Jordan 2018 notes that the manufacturing, electricity, water, transportation, ICT and construction sectors are being targeted for double-digit growth as part of the kingdom’s broader drive to boost its gross domestic product.

With local, regional and international transit networks earmarked for development, OBG also maps out a raft of public transport projects in the pipeline.

Moreover, the port city of Aqaba is a key focus of the publication. 

OBG charts the seaport’s growth story, documenting its ongoing expansion into a tourist destination and success in attracting investors for its special economic zone.

The Report: Jordan 2018 also looks at the steps being taken to support the broader tourism industry’s development, which include marketing strategies to tap fledgling segments, rolling out new attractions and strengthening international connectivity. 

Other areas of the economy explored include the kingdom’s health sector, which has carved a niche as a regional hub for both medical tourism and the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, according to the OBG statement.

The Report: Jordan 2018 contains contributions from HRH Crown Prince Hussein and Prime Minister Hani Mulki, along with a detailed sector-by-sector guide for investors. 

It also features interviews with other high-profile personalities, including Omar Malhas, minister of finance; Muhannad Shehadeh, minister of state for investment affairs; and Nasser Shraideh, chief commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority. 

Commenting after the launch, Oliver Cornock, OBG’s editor-in-chief and managing editor for the Middle East, said the implementation of a new, mid-term economic development strategy confirmed the kingdom’s commitment to reinvigorating growth, boosting foreign direct investment and bridging the budget deficit after a few difficult years.

“While a challenging external climate, austerity measures and higher taxes have weighed on some sectors of Jordan’s economy, its strengths, which include an educated, skilled workforce, a resilient private sector and well-established tourism industry, continue to provide solid foundations for future growth,” he said. 

“The government’s latest plans to give priority to green practices and digital technology will support its longer-term targets for economic development.” 

Sofia - French President Emmanuel Macron's ambitious plans for an EU digital tax targeting US tech giants faced strong headwinds on Saturday from small member states eager to defend their strong ties with Silicon Valley.

Finance ministers from the EU's 28 member states were to discuss a controversial proposal aimed at claiming a bigger share of billions of euros from mainly US multinationals that shift earnings around Europe so as to pay lower tax rates.

"It must be discussed with the Americans, because if we do this all by ourselves as the EU, this digital tax will be very ineffective," said Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna as he arrived for talks in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Luxembourg hosts the EU headquarters for Amazon and along with Facebook and Apple hub Ireland, is loathe to see US tech giants head for the exit.

Getting all countries on board is crucial as tax reforms in the EU require unanimity.

The special tax is the latest measure by the European Union to rein in Silicon Valley giants and could also further embitter the bad-tempered trade row pitting the EU against US President Donald Trump.

"It is not an anti (US tech giant) tax, it is not an anti US tax, it is not a protectionist approach, it is something which it is in interest of all Europeans wherever they live," said EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who is driving the plan.

The transatlantic shot across the bow has been championed by Macron who believes the measure would be a popular accomplishment for the EU ahead of European elections next year, in which anti-Brussels populists could do well.

The most controversial part of the plan is to slap an emergency tax on digital companies with worldwide annual turnover above 750 million euros ($924 million), such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Airbnb and Uber.

EU members would adopt this tax unilaterally, without cooperating with the US and other countries from the OECD, the club of developed countries that has coordinated major corporate tax reforms worldwide.

"On the European level I doubt it's going to be soon because to have consensus on tax issues is not easy," said Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kazimir.

"We are ready to do it (but) on a national level ... in line with OECD recommendations," he added.

AMMAN — Royal Jordanian's (RJ) financial figures for 2017 showed that the national carrier has achieved positive results in the second half of the year, after a "very weak first half", the company's Board of Directors Chairman Said Darwazeh said on Thursday.

While a net profit before tax of JD468,000 might not be significant, Darwazeh explained, it reflects the effectiveness of the turnaround plan towards profitability, implemented in the second half of 2017. This net profit is the first positive outcome of the five-year strategy implemented by RJ, Darwazeh said, according to an RJ statement sent to The Jordan Times. 

Speaking at the RJ General Assembly's ordinary and extraordinary meetings, held on Thursday at the InterContinental Hotel, Amman, Darwazeh highlighted the significance of this result, when compared to the net losses incurred in the first six months of 2017, which amounted to JD26.3 million due to commercial challenges and the decrease in ticket prices due to fierce competition, increased capacity in the regional markets and operating costs that grew by 3 per cent because of the 28 per cent rise in fuel prices which could not be compensated in the ticket prices.

RJ President and CEO Stefan Pichler explained how RJ was able to stage a strong recovery after a weak start in the fiscal year 2017. 

At the end of the first five months of last year, the airline had very weak revenues, which were on the verge of "dropping even further into the operating loss zone this year", but that the commercial performance recovered considerably and the load factor performance was significantly enhanced while stabilising the fares in the second half of the year.

He said that the revenue management, the sales and marketing strategies were completely changed in order to attract new customers for the airline, and "that worked very well". So, the recovery in the second half of the year was the fruit of a strong revenue performance across the network, noting that the airline achieved a positive operating cash flow of JD22.8 million in 2017, according to the statement.

During the extraordinary meeting, the shareholders approved the increase of RJ’s authorised capital by 28.2 million shares to become 274.6 million shares, the statement added. 

The additional capital increase will be offered through a private placement to the Government’s Contributions Company at a par value of JD1 per share with a discount of 610 fils per share, i.e. 390 fils per share. 

The amendments on the establishment contract and the bylaws of the company were also approved to reflect this capital increase, according to the statement. 

Darwazeh explained that the 28.2 million share capital increase is part of a previously approved plan, assuring that this increase in capital will not lower the number of the shareholders' shares by any means, and the new capital will reflect positively on the airline’s future and improve its financial situation. 

AMMAN — The general assembly of the Arab Potash Company (APC) on Wednesday approved a board of directors’ proposal to distribute a cash dividend of 100 per cent of the capital which is equivalent to JD 83 million.

The meeting was headed by Sami Dawoud, who was elected as board chairman on Tuesday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, APC President and CEO Brent Heimann said that the company has maintained its status as a leading national firm and a pivotal contributor to the Treasury, adding that the APC's direct cash transfers to the Treasury have amounted to JD296 million during the past five years, constituting around 65 per cent of the company's net profits, according to Petra.

Heimann also said that APC and its subsidiary and affiliate companies boosted the Kingdom's foreign currency reserves by $845 million in 2017, according to Petra.

The CEO added that the international potash market started recovering from the crisis it has been facing which enabled the APC to achieve a net profit of JD90 million in 2017, a 44-per cent increase from 2016.

He also said that the company achieved "record" sales volume in 2017; reaching 2.36 million tonnes, marking a 16-per cent increase from 2016.