Credit Suisse

Dubai: Bassam Yammine, a managing director and co-chief executive of the Middle East at Credit Suisse, is resigning from his post but will stay on until the end of the year, according to a person familiar with the matter. Yammine joined Credit Suisse in 2007 from Audi Saudi Arabia, an investment banking business of Lebanon’s Audi Saradar Group that he founded and led. He had previously served in various positions at Lebanese financial institutions and in the Lebanese government. He “has resigned but will continue until the end of the year,” the person said. Credit Suisse’s plans after the resignation are unclear; Yammine’s co-chief executive is Bruno Daher, and both men are based in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Yammine could not be immediately reached for comment.

Jarir Marketing Co

Saudi-based Jarir Marketing Co., the bookstore chain and computer distributor, said on Wednesday it will distribute dividends to the value of 138 million Saudi riyals at 2.3 riyals a share. The dividend distribution represents 23 per cent of the company’s capital and comes as its third quarter net profit rose 5.1 per cent reaching 160.7 million riyals compared to the year earlier. Jarir is “committed to its policy for distributing cash dividends to its shareholders supported by the good profits and strong cash position,” said Abdul Karim Al Agil, chief executive officer, in a statement on the Saudi bourse website. Jarir distributed cash dividends of 2.2 per share for the first quarter and 1.4 per share in second quarter of 2012 bringing the company’s total cash dividends to 5.9 riyals a share for the nine months ended September 30, it said.

Savola Group

Saudi Arabian food company Savola Group said Wednesday it is acquiring additional shares in Almarai Co., the Gulf’s largest dairy producer, for a value of 2 billion Saudi riyals. Savola’s stake in Almarai company will rise from 29.95 per cent to 36.52 per cent as result of the transaction which was completed on October 16, the company said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website. The acquisition was financed through a combination of the company’s operational cash flow and Islamic banking facilities from local banks, Almarai said. “The acquisition of additional shares in Almarai Co. is in line with the Group’s strategy of further growing its exposure in its core sectors,” Dr. Abdulraouf M. Mannaa, the Group Managing Director, said. Savola last hiked its share holding in the dairy producer from 26.5 per cent to 29.95 per cent in 2010. Earlier this week, the company reported a 32 per cent jump in third quarter net profit, boosted by stronger sales, and said full year profit should beat its original forecast.

Maaden

Saudi Arabian Mining Co., or Maaden, said on Tuesday it has signed two financing agreements with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund for a combined value of $320 million. Maaden Aluminum Company and Maaden Rolling Mill Company-subsidiaries of Maaden, which is 21.5 per cent owned by US-based Alcoa Inc signed the agreements for the first phase of the joint venture’s $10.8 billion aluminum complex. A $160 million agreement was signed with Maaden Aluminum Company to be repaid in 12 semi-annual instalments starting in February 2015 for a period of six years, the company said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website. A second agreement of the same value was also signed with Maaden Aluminum Company, to be repaid in 13 semi-annual instalments starting in February 2016 for a period of six and a half years. Maaden said the agreements now complete the financing for its aluminum project. Maaden reported a significant rise in its third-quarter net profit to 311 million riyals ($82.9 million), which it attributed to an increase in the price and quantity of products sold.

Saudi Aramco

State-giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, said on Tuesday it has completed, ahead of schedule and below budget, the kingdom’s first offshore non-associated gas field, to meet growing domestic needs. The firm managed to raise output from about 1 billion standard cubic feet of fuel a day earlier this year to about 1.8 billion standard cubic feet, it said in a statement posted on its website. It did not give a value of the project. The Karan field, originally scheduled for completion in 2013, has helped Saudi Arabia boost its gas production by 18 per cent, Aramco said. The gas from Karan is being transported to the onshore Khursaniyah Gas Plant via subsea pipeline, Aramco has previously said. Karan and other offshore non-associated gas field projects are aimed at quenching the kingdom’s soaring demand for energy, which is needed to fuel electricity stations and industrial complexes in the rapidly growing economy. But the country hasn’t yet discovered non-associated natural gas in sufficient quantities to replace oil as the fuel for its planned electricity plants and guarantee cheap feedstock for new petrochemical factories. “Saudi Aramco is planning to increase our conventional and unconventional gas supplies by almost 250 per cent over the coming couple of decades,” the firm’s executive Khalid Al Falih said in remarks posted on the firm’s website Monday. One of the gas development Aramco is working on is the Wasit gas project, expected to be completed by mid-2014, the firm said. It will be the kingdom’s largest gas plant with a capacity to process 2.5 billion cubic feet a day of gas and will increase Saudi Arabia’s production capacity by 21 per cent. Saudi Aramco, fully owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world with activities in exploration, production, refining, distribution, shipping and marketing.