Gold output hits 15 tonnes
The Saudi Precious Minerals Company, which exploits the Sekhaibirat Gold Mine in Qasim, said it produced nearly 1.5 tonnes of gold last year.
The company's managing director, Muhammad Hani bin Kamil Al Dabbagh, said the gold mine started work in 1989 and would continue production till the end of 2003.
The life expectancy of the project is estimated at 10 years from the date of production. However, development operations carried out two years ago have extended the mine's productive life by another five years, Al Dabbagh said.
He said his company's operations were not affected by the decline of gold prices in world markets over the past two years. The Precious Minerals Company, fully owned by the Saudi Mining Corporation, was established by a Royal Decree in 1989 to develop and exploit the Sekhaibirat Gold Mine.
Savola in profit
Saudi Arabian food giant Savola Group has said it made a net profit of SR137.8 million ($36.7 million) in 2000, down 32 per cent from SR203 million a year earlier. The company said that sales in 2000 dropped to SR2.3 billion from SR2.5 billion. It expected to post a net profit of more than SR200 million in 2001. Savola owns a 51 per cent stake in the United Sugar Company (USC), which runs a sugar plant in Saudi Arabia. Britain's Tate and Lyle holds a 15 per cent share in USC and the rest is owned by local independent sugar traders.
Expansion complete
ExxonMobil Chemical has completed expanding its Yanpet petrochemical complex in Yanbu, making it the largest polyethylene plant in the world. The complex is a 50-50 joint venture between Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic). The expansion boosts the plant's annual capacity of ethylene, used for making polyethylene, a plastic widely used in packaging, to about 1.7 million tonnes per year.
Readymade coldrooms from HRCO
Al Howaish Refrigeration Factory (HRCO) has announced plans to introduce ready-to-use assembled cold rooms onto the market.
Located in Jeddah's industrial area Phase II, HRCO is one of the leading manufacturers specialising in refrigeration, cold rooms, panelling work, cold-room doors, industrial doors and stainless-steel fabrication.
HRCO vice-president Abdul Rahman Jaber said the cold rooms had pre-fabricated walls, corners and a ceiling incorporating the new technology of Camlock joints. The main advantage of the cold room was that it could be installed quickly and easily, saving a great deal of time and effort," he said.
Promotional body on cards
Saudi Arabia will set up an independent agency to promote industrial cities in the Kingdom as part of its drive to attract huge investments, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Electricity has said. Formation of the new body is part of several recommendations proposed for the structural reform of the industrial cities, the Arab News said in a report.
Industrial cities in various parts of the country currently have various limitations including lack of space in the face of increased demand for setting up new projects, said Saleh Al Huseini, under-secretary for industrial affairs at the ministry.
Free Zone plan progresses
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt have decided after a joint commission meeting to send back to a committee of experts their plan for setting up a free trade zone. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said an ad hoc committee would study the project in an attempt to reach an agreement. The project is part of a wider plan launched by the Arab League in 1998 to set up a free zone and phase out customs barriers by 2007. Fourteen states, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have already slashed customs fees on their trade by 30 per cent.
Prince Saud, who co-chaired the meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Amr Moussa, called for the private sector to play a larger role in increasing bilateral trade between the two countries, which he said fell in 1999 to $584 million, down by $133 million compared to 1998.
Unilube awards contracts
United Lube Oil Company (Unilube), the oil recycling firm, has awarded contracts worth SR7.6 million ($2.05 million) for pipework and electrical installations. They include a contract for pump work for Saudi Pumps Factory and another for valves and fittings for Abu Nayyan Trading Company. ABB Electrical Corp received a contract for electrical installations, transformers and switchgear. Unilube is a joint venture between Saudi investors and Enprotect (Middle East), a British Virgin Islands-registered firm. The 70,000-tonne oil recycling plant is coming up at Jubail. Production is expected to start this year. It is being set up under the Al Yamamah Economic Offset Programme with assistance from BAE Offset Finance.
Gypsum firm makes profit
Saudi Arabia's National Gypsum Company has reported a pre-tax profit of SR53 million ($14 million) for the year 2000 compared with SR42.2 million for the previous year. Shareholders' equity was SR266 million for 2000 compared with the SR 249 million for the previous year.
Five exporters honoured
Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EPCCI) has honoured five companies for their performance in exporting products made in the Kingdom.
Prince Muhammad bin Fahad, Emir of the province, conferred the awards on Arabian Alkali Company, Astar Polymers Company, Al-Qahtani Pipe Coating Terminal, Bin Zagr Walls Company and Olayan Kimberly Clark Arabia.
EPCCI president Khalid AI-Zamil said the selection was based on several criteria including production and export operations development, quality and promotional activities, recruitment of local manpower and usage of domestic materials.
472 licences issued
Saudi Arabia's industrial sector witnessed fast growth during the first half of 2000. Industry and Electricity Minister Hashim Yamani said that 472 licences had been issued for investment projects worth SR12.84 billion ($3.4 billion), the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. While 401 of the new licences were for new industrial projects, 71 were for the expansion of existing projects.
The increase was 14.9 per cent over the same period in 1999 when only 411 industrial licences were issued, the minister said. Of them 365 were for new ventures and 46 for expansion work.
Investments for the projects showed a 75 per cent increase compared to the first half of 1999. The total industrial investment during the same period in 1999 was only SR7.34 billion.
Taiwanese seek easier visas
Taiwanese officials and businessmen have called on the Saudi authorities to simplify the entry visa procedure for businessmen. The process of acquiring a business visa for the Kingdom is a long and arduous task, Wang Wei-chich, representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Riyadh, told the Saudi Gazette.
He was echoing the request of Taiwanese businessmen during the Saudi-Taiwanese joint economic and technical meeting held in Taiwan last October.
"From what we gather, visa applications from the Saudi mission overseas are sent back to Riyadh for an appropriate decision, and that delays the whole process" he said.
CAll to set up EU office
The Austrian ambassador to Saudi Arabia has called on the European Commission to set up a coordinating office in the Kingdom modelled after EU offices in Norway and Australia to boost GCC-EU cooperation. Ambassador Dr Harald Wiesner said such an office would help coordinate efforts of EU countries in providing a 'road map' to GCC-EU relations, the Arab News reported.
