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RIYADH: The World Bank is providing funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in renewable energy and cleaner production projects in the Kingdom.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group, signed off on a SR75 million investment in Saudi Orix Leasing Company (SOLC) last week to expand sustainable energy financing and increase access to finance for smaller businesses in Saudi Arabia.

“The loan will help SOLC, the largest private leasing company in Saudi Arabia, increase the number of leases it provides to small and medium enterprises that are investing in energy efficient, renewable energy and cleaner production projects,” said Walid Almurshed, IFCs country manager for Saudi Arabia.

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ADDIS ABABA – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Banks private sector lender, said it had invested 3.4 million pounds in Ethiopias fledgling gold mining sector through Nyota Minerals.

Nyota is exploring for gold in Ethiopia and for nickel in Burundi. It is also looking at gold mining opportunities in Swaziland and at platinum mining possibilities in Ethiopia.

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JEDDAH – Saudi Arabias economic diversification initiatives, one of the priorities listed in its five-year development plan, has yielded positive results, Dr. Waleed Al-Wahaib, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, said in a speech before the 1st Saudi Conference for Trade Finance and Export held in Riyadh recently.

Dr. Al-Wahaib said as a result of Saudis diversification efforts, its non-oil sector now accounts for 62 percent of its GDP, with the private sector contributing 58 percent of that output.

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JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia is seeking finance from international and regional banks for its first privately-owned airport in Madina, Islams second Holy City, which is estimated to cost about SR6 billion ($1.6 billion).

The General Authority of Civil Aviation, will hold a roadshow in Dubai on April 7 to meet banks and investors interested in the airport that is planned to handle as many as 8 million passengers per year,” Alaa Samman, director of business development for domestic airports at the regulator, said on Wednesday.

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“IN the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, prayer and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family and companions.
Dear brothers, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
With Allah’s help and blessings, we open the work of the second year of the fifth term of the Majlis Al-Shoura, asking Allah Almighty to help us all to serve our religion, our country and our people, the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
We cannot achieve our hopes and aspirations without a dependence on Allah and the help of the people of this country. If this is in place, our dreams will come true. I say this because I have to point out that our current achievements have not met all our aspirations which we have sought to ensure our country is ranked among the developed countries of the world. A State that is based on the word of Tawheed (oneness of God) and whose flag was raised by the late King Abdul Aziz, is able (God willing) to achieve what it seeks patiently.
The unity and power of this country imposes a collective responsibility on us to defend it at a time when the ambitions of our enemies, haters and aggressors have increased. This requires us to be vigilant. Therefore, there is a double responsibility that has to be shared by everyone wherever they are. The homeland is for all of us. All of us will be measured according to our efforts, sacrifices and dedication to a country whose foundation is based on the pillars of Islam. This is the criteria that will test the caliber of the people of this country.

The ‘word is like a sword’
You are all aware that the word is like a sword. I urge everyone to realize this. If the word becomes a tool for settling scores, to gossip, and to charge people randomly, then the word will become a tool for destruction. This does not mean a ban on constructive criticism. Therefore, I ask everyone to fear Allah in their words and actions, to shoulder their responsibilities and not to become a burden on their religion, homeland, and parents.
We are part of the Arab, Islamic, and international world. Our role is based on defending their rights and making sacrifices for unity in their ranks. Any fair person cannot deny our role in this regard. We will always be keen to adopt their just cases. This will only be achieved through unity. At the international level, our position is clear and based on friendship and promotion of peace among peoples and nations.

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JEDDAH – The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) is working on plans to develop land around all the country’s airports to create more economic activity and about 34,000 new jobs.
The GACA recently signed a contract with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank to carry out the commercial, technical, legal and financial studies to find ways to exploit the land economically.
The GACA has allocated two sites at Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport for private sector investment, including commercial and residential buildings, offices, conference centers and parks. The pieces of land are one million square meters and 1.4 million square meters in size. One of it is east of the Haramain Road – the Jeddah Highway.
The GACA had completed its initial studies on the two sites and approved a number of companies and alliances, including local investors and international companies, to submit offers.
The GACA set the deadline at the end of May 2010. All bids will be assessed by a specialized committee to select the most adequate in terms of long- and short-term financial returns.

Airports Cities
Execution of the Airports Cities project is based on a partnership with the private sector. It will involve a main developer and will contain markets, aviation and travel, tourism, hotels businesses, warehouses, residential complexes and light industrial activities.
The GACA aims to exploit the vast areas around airports through private investment to raise the income of airports through non-aviation-related activities. In 2009 it had invited interested companies to introduce their qualification requests.
The qualification has been completed and the second stage would be the bidding and negotiating prior to selecting the company to be awarded the contracts. – Okaz/SG

JEDDAH: New development projects supported by the private sector at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah will create at least 34,000 jobs, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said on Monday.

The new projects, which are part of GACA’s strategy to transform domestic and international airports into airport cities, will include five-star hotels, shopping malls, recreation centers, tourist facilities, exhibition centers and aviation-related factories.

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JEDDAH: Fernvale Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd. is making a capital commitment of $75 million to Pan-African Investment Partners II Ltd. (the second Kingdom Zephyr fund, known as PAIP II). This was announced here on Monday by Kingdom Holding Company (KHC).

Fernvale is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd.

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LONDON – The first environmental, social and governance (ESG) index of Middle Eastern and North African companies is due to be launched later this year – two years after it was first announced.

The Dubai-based Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance, index and ratings provider Standard & Poors (S&P), and Credit Rating and Information Services of India Ltd. (Crisil) are developing the index, which will be based on constituents ESG performance, Environmental Finance Publications reported Friday.

“The index will help some 400 listed companies in 11 countries better understand environmentally and socially responsible investment practices, and the importance of implementing sound corporate governance,” International Finance Corporation (IFC) said, the private sector arm of the World Bank, which is supporting the indexs development.

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In the space of a mere five months since its first listing in August 2009, Bursa Malaysia, the national stock exchange, based in Kuala Lumpur, has emerged as the top listings exchange in the world for sukuk (Islamic bonds). By the end of December 2009, the value of sukuk program listings totaled $17.6 billion, comprising a total of 12 sukuk issuances.

Bursa Malaysia, formerly the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, hitherto known for its Shariah-compliant equities universe, is attracting listings by both the big-hitting Malaysian issuers such as Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund and the investment arm of the Ministry of Finance Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), the national oil company and Cagamas MBS Bhd (Cagamas MBS), the national mortgage corporation and major international issuers such GE Capital, the finance subsidiary of General Electric (GE) of the US.

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