14 Vol. 19/18, May 2018
Aramco welcomes fi rst female board member, Kuwait’s
quest for foreign capital and GFH’s investment in tech
KUWAIT
The fi rst phase of a campaign
launched by Boursa Kuwait
in London to attract foreign
capital into the Gulf stock
market will boost liquidity
and impact listed companies,
according to senior Kuwaiti
economic experts.
Saleh Al Selmi, chairman
of the International Financial
Advisors (IFA) company, said
in an interview with state news
agency KUNA that the bourse
has been going through a
signifi cant transformation since
the private sector took over its
management.
He lauded the promotional
campaign in London, executed
in coordination with fi nancial
services giant Goldman Sachs,
and added that the Dubai
bourse had carried out a similar
campaign in Europe and the US,
leading to a liquidity rise in the
UAE market.
Mohammed Al Naqi,
chairman and CEO of Kuwait
Industries Company (KIC), said
the promotion efforts in London
would contribute to enhancing
Kuwait’s economic image.GCC
SAUDI
Riyadh Kuwait City$7.9bn
Saudi Aramco’s spending on
production and manufacturing
costs in the fi rst half of 2017
IN FOCUSSaudi Aramco appoints
fi rst female to the board
Kuwaiti bourse to
lure foreign capital
SAUDI ARAMCO, THE
world’s biggest crude
exporter, appointed new
board members with
experience in international
oil and petrochemical
businesses as it plans a
possible overseas share sale
in what could be a record
initial public offering.
Andrew Liveris, the outgoing
chairman and chief executive
officer of Dow Chemical Co,
will join the board on July 1
when he retires from the US
chemicals producer, Aramco
said in a statement.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co also
appointed Lynn Elsenhans,
former chairwoman of
Sunoco, as the only woman
on its board. Peter Cella,
former president and
CEO of Chevron Phillips
Chemical Co, also joins, as
do Saudi Finance Minister
Mohammed Al Jadaan
and Economy Minister
Mohammad Al Tuwaijri, the
state-owned oil giant said.
Saudi Arabia’s planned sale
of shares in Aramco is the
cornerstone of an economic
transformation programme
that aims to build new
industries and diversify away
from a reliance on oil. The
biggest producer in OPEC
plans as early as this year to
list shares in Aramco on the
Saudi exchange and at least
one international bourse.Kuwait biofuel
project up and
running in June
Kuwaiti Oil minister Bakhit
Al Rashidi said last Tuesday
a biofuel project in the
emirate worth $10.25bn is
94 percent complete and
will be fi nished in June.
In his rebuttal during a
grilling in parliament, Al
Rashidi sought to refute claims
that the project is likely to be
fi nished in 2021, setting a June
deadline instead. He said the
project has paid dividends by
preserving public funds and
providing the youth with more
employment opportunities.
Al Rashidi also revealed that
the Nghi Son refi nery, a $7.5bn
joint venture between Kuwait
and Vietnam, has been fully
built, with preliminary
production expected to begin
this month before commercial
output starts in July.u Kuwait’s campaign in London aims
to lure more foreign investmentu Saudi nationals saw the opening of the kingdom’s second cinema
last Monday, a four screen Vox Cinemas multiplex located in Riyadh Park.