Saudi Arabia's biggest food company is looking to profit from pasta. Savola Azizia has agreed to buy a 78 per cent stake in two Egyptian food companies for 557 million Egyptian pounds.
The two companies, Al-Malika and Al-Farasha, have the capacity to produce 120,000 tonnes of pasta a year and together account for 30 per cent of the market in Egypt, Savola said. Savola initially announced its plans to enter the pasta market at the end of 2009. The company has expanded its food and retail business to meet rising demand in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Savola's strategic investments include a supermarket chain, a milk and dairy producer, a fast-food chain, and a host of edible oils and sugar businesses.
Panda, a 74 per cent-owned subsidiary, is the largest grocery retailer in Saudi Arabia, operating 87 supermarkets and 38 hypermarkets in the kingdom. Panda has a history of fast growth, expanding both organically and inorganically. The company aims to capitalise on the fragmented nature of the Saudi grocery market, where the top five players have a combined market share of just 15 per cent.
Savola owns 26.5 per cent of Almarai, the largest dairy and milk producer in the Gulf region. The company also owns a 49 per cent stake in Herfy, Saudi Arabia's second-biggest fast-food chain after McDonald's.
Savola, through subsidiaries Afia Internationaland Savola Foods Emerging Markets, operates 11 edible oils manufacturing facilities in eight countries and serves 30 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
Al Osra, Savola's sugar segment, caters to countries in the Middle East. Savola's increased sales and market share in the food and retail sectors boosted the company's profitability in the third quarter.
Net income was 8.7 per cent higher at 307.9 million Saudi riyals compared with 283m riyals in same period a year earlier. The company said this week it expected full-year earnings, before capital gains, to reach 1 billion riyals.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
MATCH RESULT
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Jazira: Mabkhout (52'), Romarinho (77'), Al Hammadi (90' 6)
Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.